Oct 09, 2020 Special Community Technology &amp; Telecommunications Commission

WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SUMMIT, A PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, FROM, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND, UH, AUSTIN RESIDENT, UH, MICHAEL WARD.

DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO RESPOND.

I'VE GOT THE VISUAL.

I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH THE LIST HERE.

I'VE GOT COMMISSIONER VICE-CHAIR, UH, DAVID ALEXANDER FROM DISTRICT FOUR.

I HAVE MERYL APPOINTEE, SOPHIE YARROW.

I HAVE COMMISSIONER MALCOLM MEATS FROM DISTRICT THREE.

I HAVE COMMISSIONED ASSUMING DASGUPTA FROM DISTRICT 10 AND I HAVE COMMISSIONER NICOLE THOMPSON BEAVERS FROM DISTRICT NINE.

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO BE JOINED BY A VARIETY OF INDIVIDUALS TODAY THAT WILL BE COMING INTO OUR CALL AND I'LL GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AS THEY'RE CALLED ON AND OR WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS WILL BE RAISING TODAY OR FEEDBACK WE'LL BE SHARING FROM THEIR EXPERIENCES HERE IN AUSTIN WITH DIGITAL EQUITY.

WHEN WE'VE GOT OUR ROLL CALL, NOW WE'VE GOT A ROLL CALL COMPLETED.

WE HAVE, SO

[Additional Item]

HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.

THANK YOU, MICHAEL.

PERFECT.

THANK YOU SHERIFF.

WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.

I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY.

UH, MY NAME IS MICHAEL WARD JR.

AND I'M THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF AUSTIN URBAN TECHNOLOGY MOVEMENT.

AUSTIN AUTO AUTUMN'S MISSION IS TO CONNECT THE BLACK AND HISPANIC COMMUNITY WITH DETECTIVE MYSTERIES THAT WE DO JOB PLACEMENTS CAREER THERE'S THE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES.

AND THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A TOUGH ONE.

AS THEY SEE US MOVE TO SOCIAL DIFFERENT THING AND, AND A MORE DIGITALIZED ECONOMY AND SOCIETY.

UH, WE REALIZED THAT NOT MANY INDIVIDUALS ACTUALLY HAVE THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED TO XCEL AND HAVE THE NEEDS THAT ARE NEEDED TO BE SELF SUSTAINING AND THE NEW WORLD THAT WE'RE MOVING INTO.

WE'VE SEEN THAT RIGHT NOW, THIS KIND OF IMPACT TWO MAIN AREAS THAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS.

UM, ONE THAT IMPACTS OUR WORKFORCE BECAUSE NOW INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED TO HAVE ONLINE LEARNING, UM, OR INDIVIDUALLY NEED TO DO A REMOTE WORKING AND ARE UNABLE TO HAVE THE QUALITY OF SIGNAL THAT'S NEEDED THAT BROUGHT THEM STRENGTH.

UM, THE RESOURCES THAT DEVICES THAT IT NEEDED TO ACTUALLY SOLVE ARE, ARE, ARE ACCOMPLISHED THEIR, THEIR ACTIVITIES THAT THEY'RE FOCUSING ON IN THE DAY TO DAY.

BUT AFTER WHEN I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY, IT REALIZED THAT THAT'S A HUGE BARRIER FOR US TO ACTUALLY PREPARE OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT JOBS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, ESPECIALLY INSIDE THE TEXAS CASE.

CAUSE HERE IN AUSTIN, MAJORITY OF THE TOP 10 SKILLS THAT ARE NEEDED WITHIN SIDE, UM, MARK'S COMMUNITY, ALL TECH RELATED, AND MAJORITY OF THE OTHER JOBS THAT PAY WELL ARE INSIDE THE TECH INDUSTRY.

BUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS, OF THIS ISSUE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY, IT'S THAT THIS IS ALSO A HEALTH ISSUE AND THEN A SECURITY ISSUE.

I WAS HAVING A CONVERSATION THE OTHER DAY, WHERE I ASKED THE QUESTION, IF WE WEREN'T INVADED RIGHT NOW, IF WE WERE INVADED, HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY KNOW THAT WE WERE INVADED, IF WE, IF THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE RADIO AND HAVE ACCESS TO CITY AND HAVE ACCESS TO SMART PHONES OR HAVE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS? WELL, THEY ACTUALLY KNOW THAT THEIR, THEIR COMMUNITY IS IN JEOPARDY.

AND THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, VISUAL EQUITY AND HAVING INDIVIDUALS WHO NOT JUST HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, BUT ACTUALLY HAS ADOPTED THE INTERNET, KNOWS HOW TO USE DEVICES.

AND NOW START TO MOVE WITHIN OUR SOCIETY BY BEING INNOVATIVE AND REALLY SCALING AND GROWING.

WE'RE JUST DOING A DISSERVICE AND NOT REALLY ALLOWING OUR COMMUNITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL.

SO I WANT TO COMPARE TODAY, ANGELA, TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VISUAL EQUITY AND THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING TO AUTUMN SLOWLY, PUSH THIS

[00:05:01]

CONVERSATION FORWARD, WHICH IS WHY WE LAUNCHED OUR TEXAS TECHNOLOGY FOR ALL PETITION.

AND OUR PETITION HAS THREE MAIN GOALS.

NUMBER ONE, PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS TO THOSE THAT ARE LOW INCOME, UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED, BUT ALSO ENSURING THAT THEY'RE CONNECTED TO DEVICES AND THEN PROVIDE UPSKILLING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO MAKE THE TRANSITION, TO WORK WITH US, STRENGTHEN OUR COD SO WE CAN CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD AND ADDRESS OR ELIMINATING THE DIGITAL DEVICE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT, MICHAEL.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND ALSO FOR BEING KIND ENOUGH TO STAY WITHIN THE TIME PARAMETERS, UH, I LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO OUR COMMISSIONERS, UH, FOR QUESTIONS.

WE HAVE A FEW MINUTES ALLOTTED FOR THAT.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MICHAEL WARD JR? WELL, TED, I HAVE A QUESTION.

I HAVE A QUESTION PLEASE PROCEED.

UM, MY QUESTION IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CHALLENGES ON MANY FORMS. WHAT ARE THE LIST OF PRIORITIES AS YOU GO ABOUT ENSURING DIGITAL EQUITY? WHAT I KNOW YOU, YOU HAVE ONE TO TWO, LIKE A LIST OF TOP THREE OR FOUR THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE BECAUSE I I'M WATCHING THIS HAPPENING TO MY WORK IN THE CENSUS AND GET OUT OF THE BOOK AND I KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, BUT I WANT TO HEAR FROM THE SPEAKER WHAT HIS PRIORITIES ARE.

SURE.

SO WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT DATA ACCESS, I MEAN THERE, THERE'S TWO MAIN BUCKETS THAT I WANT TO FOCUS ON.

ONE IS THAT YOU AND FOR THE YOUTH, IN ORDER TO HAVE WHAT THEY NEED, THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT EVERYONE HAS QUALITY ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND DEVICES THAT HAD THE NUMBER ONE SOLUTION OR MEMBER ONE BOTH WOULD BE HAVE ACROSS THE BOARD, ENSURING THAT OUR YOUTH HAVE THESE TOOLS, THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE WITH THEIR EDUCATION.

BUT THE SECOND SIDE OF THAT IS ENSURING THAT OUR, OUR ADULTS HAVE THE SAME EXACT OPPORTUNITY THEN RESOURCES, BECAUSE IF OUR ADULTS DON'T HAVE THAT, THEY CAN'T BECOME SELF SUSTAINING TO THEN TAKE CARE OF THEIR CHILDREN AND FEED BACK INTO OUR ECONOMY.

SO A LOT OF OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN AROUND A SHORT TERM FIX, BUT NOT AS MUCH FOCUSED ON THE LONGTERM SOLUTION.

SO TWO, THREE YEARS FROM NOW, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING.

WEBSITE OR NOT WEBSITE, BUT THEIR PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG AND SEE IT THERE AS WELL.

AND THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION COMMISSIONER DASGUPTA UH, WE HAVE JUST ANOTHER FEW SET UP 20 SECONDS, OR SO IF ANYONE HAS ANY PRESSING QUESTIONS, UH, I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT MICHAEL WILL ALSO BE PRESENTING A FULL PLOT AND OUR AGENDA NEXT WEEK, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO ASK HIM MUCH MORE QUESTIONS AT THAT TIME.

AND THE COMMUNITY WILL ALSO BE FURTHER EXPOSED TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT HE'LL BE DRESSING WITH DIGITAL EQUITY CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE.

I HAVE A FOLLOWUP QUESTION, WHICH COULD BE A PREPARATION FOR NEXT YOU PRESENTATION.

WE HAVE A VERY TIGHT AGENDA.

SO I'LL LET YOU USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT.

IF YOU THINK IT'S BEST TO SHARE THE QUESTION NOW OR TO, TO RESERVE THAT, I'LL THROW THE QUESTION IN IT.

DOESN'T HAVE TO ANSWER IT.

MAYBE IT WILL BE, IT WILL BE BETTER NEXT WEEK.

AND THE QUESTION IS IT'S THREEFOLD.

ONE IS THE EQUIPMENT INSIDE THE HOUSE, THE ACCESS TO INTERNET, MEANING HOW ARE THE PROVIDERS, HOW WAS HE WORKING WITH THE PROVIDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROVIDERS ARE PROVIDING THE CONNECTION? AND SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A DOCTOR EDUCATION IN TWO WAYS, ONE IS HOW YOU TRAIN THE MOON AND HOW YOU DRINK THE WOMEN.

BECAUSE WHEN MOTHERS ARE INVOLVED, CHILDREN WILL BE MORE INVOLVED.

I THINK WOMEN IN OUR SOCIETY HAVE A MUCH GREATER ROLE TO PLAY, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE NOT GIVING THE IMPORTANCE THAT THEY DESERVE.

WELL, I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE.

I DO HAVE TO OFFER MICHAEL THE OPPORTUNITY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT ANSWER, UH, NEXT WEEK, UH, AND OPEN TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT.

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME CLOSING WORDS.

SO MICHAEL, PLEASE IS SURE.

AND I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT WOULD DEFINITELY DIVE INTO ALL OF THAT CONNECT TO BE, BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS DEFINITELY COMPLEX.

BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS FANTASTIC, BUT WE NEED TO DO MORE AND DO OTHER THINGS, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHAT WE CURRENTLY DOING, ISN'T HAVING THE IMPACT THAT WE WANT TO HAVE NORTH HAVING THE OVERALL, YOU KNOW, THE LUCY BEING GENERATED TO THE LAST THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS A U T N T S.ORG.

AND YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT AUTUMN AND YOU CAN GO TO OUR

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BUT WE'RE ALL ON GOOGLE.

SO YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T MISS IT IF YOU DO ITEMS. YES.

WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND YOUR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY, MICHAEL, AND FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

BUT THOSE QUESTIONS COMMISSIONED A SCOOP.

THEN WITH THAT, WE'LL PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA TO

[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 25, 2020]

UH, WE'VE ALL RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES.

THIS IS JUST FOR THE COMMISSIONERS.

UM, AND WE RECEIVED THOSE IN ADVANCE WELL ENOUGH, HOPEFULLY TO BE ABLE TO APPROVE THEM QUICKLY.

UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

UH, IN A SECOND, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES.

I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES BY COMMISSIONER UTES.

I DO HAVE A SECOND, SECOND, SOME MINUTES.

UH, THE MAIN REASON WHY WE WANT TO DO THIS TODAY IS BECAUSE WE SET OUT A YEAR AGO, UH, BUT A LITTLE BIT OVER A YEAR AGO.

I HAVE A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER THOMPSON BEAVERS, UH, WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND HOLD A BOAT TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, UH, A VERBAL VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.

HI.

AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE A UNANIMOUS APPROVAL.

I DID HEAR COMMISSIONER DIRE AS WELL, UH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH OUR AGENDA AND REALLY GET INTO THE BULK OF THE CONVERSATION TODAY.

[2a. Briefing on Digital Inclusion Week 2020 & Special Conversation on Digital Equity Introduction (Commission Chair, Nehemiah Pitts III)]

SO CONVENE A STAKEHOLDER CONVERSATION.

ONE THAT WOULD BRING TOGETHER, UH, PEOPLE OF COURSE, FROM THE COMMUNITY, FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE COLLABORATE WITH, EITHER DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR G TOPS, WHICH IS A GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM OR OTHER, UH, COLLABORATIONS THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED AS WELL AS WITH CITIZENS, UH, DIRECTLY RECEIVING THOSE SERVICES AND THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF, UH, FOR THIS CONVENING AFTER BEING INFORMED OF A VERY ROBUST CONVERSATION THAT TOOK PLACE, UH, WITH SIMILAR MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND PROVIDERS ABOUT AFFORDABLE INTERNET OPTIONS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS, INCLUDING, UH, PEOPLE FROM OUR OFFICE HERE, UH, EXCUSE ME, FROM THE DIGITAL INCLUSION OFFICE HERE, UH, JOHN SPIRITS, THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND OTHERS THAT WERE PRESENT, UH, ACTUALLY THE TARA, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, WHEN DALE HAWKINS WAS ALSO PRESENT, HE WAS PRESENT ON THE CALL AND USING THIS MEETING AND USING THIS OPPORTUNITY.

I WANT IT TO ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION AS ONE THAT WOULD BECOME PART OF THE PERMANENT RECORD AND ALLOW CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE RECEIVING SERVICES, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR STORIES AND EXPLAIN HOW THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND TO, UH, LEVERAGE SERVICES AND RESOURCES HERE LOCALLY TO MEET THEIR NEEDS.

BUT YET TO ALSO TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THEIR PERSISTENT CHALLENGES IN THE MIDST OF OUR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, THE EVENT WAS PLANNED INITIALLY TO BE A FACE TO FACE EVENT.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS, OF COURSE, WE'VE ALL HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS YEAR IS COVID-19 WHICH MADE MAKING THIS CONVERSATION ONE WE HAD ONLINE AND UTILIZE THIS TIME AND THE SPACE TO DO SO THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

I WON'T SPEND ANY MORE TIME BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A, A VERY ROBUST AGENDA HERE AND, UH, QUITE A FEW SPEAKERS THAT WILL BE SHARING THEIR EXPERIENCES AND, UH, AND LIVED EXPERIENCES AS AUSTIN RESIDENCES, UH, RESIDENCE EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND SPEAKING TO DIGITAL EQUITY IN PARTICULAR, WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO GO

[3a. Digital Equity Discussion & Presentations - Digital Empowerment Community of Austin (DECA) Entities, Community Members, Civic Organizations, and Leaders]

AND PROCEED TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS NEW BUSINESS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.

UH, BUT WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE AN INTERPRETER STANDING BY ON THE CALL FOR DAVID AS WELL.

OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS FROM THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF A GENTLEMAN'S NAME IS DAVID COCO.

HE IS THEIR OUTREACH SPECIALIST.

AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND HAND OFF THE BATON TO DAVID.

I KNOW THAT WE DID HAVE A LITTLE CHALLENGE EARLIER, UH, SO WE MAY NEED TO JUMP BACK TO DAVID IF HE'S UNAVAILABLE NOW.

[00:15:01]

SO DAVID HAS BEEN MOVED OVER TO THE PANELIST SIDE.

THIS IS DANIEL WITH CTM, UH, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THE VIDEO, UM, IS NOT COMING UP FOR HIM.

SO WE'LL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO QUICKLY CONFIRM WITH THE INTERPRETER, UH, THAT DAVID IS ALSO RECEIVING HER COMMUNICATION.

I'M SORRY, DAVE, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT TO CONVEY WHAT DAVID IS SAYING.

I THINK HE CAN SEE ME YET.

SHALL I GO AHEAD LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT DAVID HAS TO SAY.

UM, SO MY, LIKE YOU SAID, MY NAME IS DAVID COGAN.

UM, I'M FROM TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.

AND I WAS ASKED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF CORONAVIRUS AND WHAT THAT HAS BEEN FACED FOR DEAF COMMUNITY AND DEAF PEOPLE HERE IN OUR AREA.

I THINK IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING TIME BECAUSE THE INTERNET IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, LIVE FOR COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE DEAF COMMUNITY AND CORONA VIRUS HAS KIND OF FORCED, UM, UH, INTO SOME OPPORTUNITIES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OCCURRED IN BARS, YOU KNOW, SITUATIONS WHERE WE'RE DOING A LOT OF COMMUNICATION ONLINE.

AND AS THE BANDWIDTH IS LIMITED FOR MANY PEOPLE, AND THAT HAS BEEN AN ISSUE.

UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THERE HAS BEEN SOME LIMITS, UM, JUST IN OUR AREA WITH, WITH, UM, DEAF PEOPLE BECOMING, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPERTS TRYING TO GET ALL THE COMMUNICATION GOING ONLINE, BUT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF BANDWIDTH ISSUES.

AND THIS ANOTHER EXAMPLE, UM, WE KNOW THAT TECHNOLOGY EQUALLY ACROSS THE STATE AND HAVING STREAMING ACCESS POINTS FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.

WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH SPEED NETWORKS, AND THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE THROUGHOUT THE STEMI.

WE SERVE STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE.

AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO HELP GET TECHNOLOGY IT'S SET UP THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

AND SO I'M VERY INTERESTED TO LEARN WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE AND I'M HOPING THIS WILL GROW OUT POSITIVELY.

AND THAT WAY WE CAN PROVIDE MORE DISTANCE LEARNING FOR STUDENTS DOWN THE ROAD AS WELL, AND PROVIDE THOSE TOOLS THAT WILL HELP DISTRIBUTE IT TO MORE PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE.

ONCE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A PROGRAM HERE, YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT ALL DISABLED PEOPLE IN THE AREA AREN'T, DON'T HAVE A QUICK AND DIRTY SET UP.

AND SO THINK ABOUT HOW A DEAF PERSON OR A BLIND PERSON OR OTHER INDIVIDUALS ARE TRYING TO ACCESS SERVICES.

AND SO WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE EQUITABLE IN OUR WORK FOR AN INCLUSIVE OF EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME

[00:20:01]

HERE.

I APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, DAVID, FOR THAT AND INTERPRETS FOR LAYING, UH, DAVID'S THOUGHTS.

UH, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, IMMEDIATELY OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY OF OUR AVAILABLE POLICYMAKERS THAT HAVE JOINED THE CALL, UH, TO RESPOND TO DAVID.

I KNOW THAT, UH, WE ARE PLEASED TO BE ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES AND TO, TO HAVE INCLUDED THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, UH, SOMETHING WAS PERSONALLY RESONANT TO ME WITH MY GRANDPARENTS.

THREE OF THEM ACTUALLY ATTENDING THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, WHEN IT WAS SEGREGATED, UH, EARLY IN THE 19TH CENTURY.

FEEL FREE.

IF, IF ANY OF OUR POLICYMAKERS WOULD LIKE TO CHIME IN NOW WITH ANY OF THEIR THOUGHTS, I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN AUDIENCE.

IS THERE A CHALLENGE FOR THE DEAF STUDENTS TO ACCESS INTERNET FROM HOME? OR IS THIS GENERALLY DONE THROUGH THE SCHOOL? YES, THERE'S DEFINITELY AN ISSUE.

AND LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH, THAT'S BEEN THE MOST, THE BIGGEST FOLLOWING.

AND, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S THINGS THAT THEY HAVE ARE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION.

BANDWIDTH HAS BEEN A BIG ISSUE AND HOPING THAT IF WE KEEP BIG BANDWIDTH A LITTLE MORE EQUAL, THEN THAT WOULD GIVE BETTER STUDENTS THAT PROVIDE A BETTER SERVICE, BUT IT'S MORE STABLE AT SCHOOL THAN IT IS AT HOME.

I THINK THAT IF WE CAN SOMEHOW FIX SOME OF THOSE ISSUES, THEN THAT IS A HUGE NEED.

I FEEL LIKE.

SO STUDENTS COME FROM THE STATE, NOT JUST AUSTIN.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

EXACTLY.

WE SERVE ALL IN TEXAS THE WHOLE SAME TEXAS.

YEAH, SURE THING.

UH, I'D LIKE TO CHECK TO SEE IF, UH, I NOTICED THAT WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF DISTINGUISHED, UH, POLICY MAKERS JOIN OUR CALL.

I'M VERY HONORED TO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARPER, MADISON ON THE CALL WITH US AND OUR CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, UH, BYRON OAKS ON THE CALL.

HELLO, COUNCIL MEMBER.

UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANY THOUGHTS? HELLO.

UM, YOU KNOW, I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN IN ON THE CONVERSATION.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE THINGS, ONE OF THOSE POINTS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF GAPS AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE GAPS THAT, YOU KNOW, DURING THE COURSE OF YOU AND I HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE GAPS.

I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT LANGUAGE.

UM, SO LET'S SAY FOR A PERSON FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS A SECOND LANGUAGE, UM, ASIDE FROM ACCOMMODATIONS WITH ASO, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES WITH LANGUAGE GIVEN THAT PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM ALL OVER THE STATE AND OUR PROXIMITY TO MEXICO? I JUST WONDER HOW FREQUENTLY WE HAVE PEOPLE FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE, UM, THAT MIGHT BE STRUGGLING IN ANY, IF THAT'S THE CASE, IN ADDITION TO WHAT THE CALL HAD LAID OUT, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT OTHER CHALLENGES MAY BE PRESENTING THEMSELVES.

GREAT QUESTION.

STUDENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATE A LOT JUST WITH GESTURING OR WRITING THINGS DOWN OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF SERVICES AND EVERYTHING FOR PARENTS THAT ARE MAYBE FROM MEXICO, WE HAVE FOUND A LOT OF STUDENTS THAT COME FROM THE VALLEY, UM, AND THEIR HOME LANGUAGE IS SPANISH.

AND SO THEY DO A LOT OF GESTURING AND THE HANDHELD SIGNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, NOT REALLY ASL, BUT, UM, THAT IS A CHALLENGE AS WELL, BUT IN GENERAL, UM, DEAF STUDENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE A, A, A, A CHALLENGE OF COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS, WHETHER IT'S, UM, SPANISH, WHETHER IT'S ENGLISH, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE AND THEY JUST HAVE TO KEEP IT UP A LITTLE BY LITTLE.

UM, AND SO THE

[00:25:01]

AND THE PARENTS IN TURN ARE TRYING TO PICK UP SIGNS AND, AND, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF LANGUAGE CHALLENGES.

AND, UM, SO THAT'S A LOT OF THE REASON THAT THEY COME TO THE DESTITUTE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR COMMUNICATION.

AND SO ALIGN, WE HAVE FOUND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WE HAVE PARENTS THEY'RE MORE SPREAD OUT, YOU WOULD SAY, SO IT'S BEEN A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.

AND WE ALSO HAVE PARENTS LEARNING ASL REMOTELY FROM HOME WHILE THEIR CHILD IS ATTENDING SCHOOL.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER CHALLENGE.

FOR SURE.

FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, WE'VE HAD THAT.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

THAT ACTUALLY SORT OF ANSWERED MY SECOND QUESTION.

AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT, UM, UH, THIS COLOR IN ANY OTHER, UH, UH, CITIZEN ON THE LINE WHO WANTED TO REACH OUT, THIS IS A POINT OF PRIORITY FOR THE DISTRICT ONE OFFICE.

UM, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE OUR EMAIL ADDRESS AND ENCOURAGE ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO CONNECT WITH US EITHER DO SO THROUGH, UM, OUT THE CHAIR TO THIS COMMITTEE OR THE DISTRICT ONE OFFICE, I WOULD ECHO THAT SENTIMENT INDEED.

UH, AND APPRECIATE YOU CALLING THANKS FOR THE LANGUAGE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE TO MANAGE AS WELL.

UH, AS PART OF VISUAL INCLUSION FOR ACCESSIBILITY, UM, EVEN WITH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, AS A GOTO, SO VERY IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE.

UH, WAS THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS THAT WE HAD FOR THE SPEAKER WE'RE JUST ABOUT OUT OF TIME HERE FOR THE SLOT MNUCHIN, THOUGH.

I WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN, DAVID COCO FOR JOINING US TODAY AND HOPE THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO JOIN US FOR FUTURE CONVERSATIONS.

UH, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

UH, WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO BLOW THE OCEAN OF DIGITAL EQUITY TODAY, UH, BUT WE WILL BE IN INVITING, UH, CONSTITUENTS BACK IN FOR THESE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS AND ENGAGEMENTS, UH, ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND GO TO OUR NEXT POINT OF THE AGENDA HERE.

UH, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS FROM THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

UH, I DID WANT TO CONFIRM THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO ACCESS THE CALL APPROPRIATELY.

UH, IF SO, WE'LL BE HEARING FROM DANIEL WHEELER.

UH, HE'S THE INSTRUCTIONAL TECH COORDINATOR THERE AT THE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

HI.

EDUCATION AGENCY TO, TO FIND SOLUTIONS.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, DANIEL FOR JOINING US TODAY.

YEAH, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

AND IT'S, UH, IT'S GREAT THAT YOU GUYS ARE HOSTING THIS, UH, THIS MEETING.

UH, SO I'M THE INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR AT TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

AND IN MANY WAYS WE SHARE SOME OF THE SAME CHALLENGES THAT, UH, THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER DAVID COCO SHARED WITH THE, UH, THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, WE SERVE APPROXIMATELY 10,000 STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR SERVICES.

UM, WE SUPPORT STUDENTS REMOTELY AS WELL AS WE ARE ALSO A RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SERVING ROUGHLY 140 STUDENTS WHO TRAVEL TO AUSTIN FROM AROUND THE STATE.

UH, AND THEY, THEY STAY IN DORMS ON OUR CAMPUS AND, AND RECEIVE DIRECT SERVICES THERE.

AND YEAH, IT'S BEEN QUITE THE JOURNEY FOR US SINCE LAST SPRING, WHEN WE HAD TO SHUT DOWN OUR IN PERSON CAMPUS AND SHIFT TO A REMOTE, UH, FULL TIME REMOTE MODEL.

AND, UH, IT, IT DEFINITELY DID HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE INEQUITIES IN TERMS OF, UH, ACCESS TO, UH, TO HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACROSS OUR STUDENT BODY.

SO IF YOU, YOU KNOW, IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU'RE A STUDENT WHO HAS A VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OR IS TOTALLY BLIND, YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF LAYERS OF BARRIERS.

UH, NOT ONLY ARE YOU RELYING ON ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TO, UH, TO ACCESS THE PLATFORMS WHERE A LOT OF THIS INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT IS DELIVERED SUCH AS ZOOM OR THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. UM, BUT IF YOU ALSO DON'T HAVE RELIABLE INTERNET, IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE CHALLENGE.

SO WE'VE HAD TO SCRAMBLE, WE'VE HAD TO BE CREATIVE WITH FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR FAMILIES AND THE, AND THE STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.

UM, WE'VE BEEN SHIPPING HOTSPOT TO STUDENTS AROUND THE STATE TRYING TO WORK WITH THEIR LOCAL

[00:30:01]

AND SO IT'S DEFINITELY A MATTER OF FIGURING OUT HOW WE PRIORITIZE THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE TO OUR STUDENTS.

SO I THINK DEFINITELY FIRST STEP IS MAKING SURE THAT THEY DO HAVE RELIABLE INTERNET AND THEN BEYOND THAT, UH, SORT OF A LONGTERM GOAL FOR OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY.

AND FOR ME PERSONALLY, IS TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR INCREASING, UH, AND IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY FOR WEB ACCESSIBILITY AND THE ONLINE PLATFORMS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF GENERAL ED STUDENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE, ARE, ARE USING LIKE, IT'S NO BIG DEAL, BUT FOR OUR STUDENTS, IT'S A, IT'S A TERRIBLE CHALLENGE WHEN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T, UH, SIMPLY TURN IN AN ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE BUTTONS ON A WEBPAGE AREN'T LABELED CORRECTLY.

UM, AND SO YES, I WOULD SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE NOT EQUITABLE FOR OUR STUDENT POPULATION ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS.

UM, AND, AND IT'S A HUGE TOPIC.

AND, AND, UH, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE I COULD TALK ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE ALLOTTED, BUT IT MAY BE GOOD JUST TO KIND OF SEE IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR ME AND MY ROLE AND THE STUDENTS THAT WE SERVE.

I'M HAPPY TO, UH, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT OR INFORMATION.

THANK YOU, DANIEL.

WE'VE BEEN A LOT ABOUT 14 MINUTES FOR, UH, FOR YOUR UPPER MENTATION AND FOR QUESTIONS, BUT IT'S GREAT.

CAUSE YOU'VE GIVEN MORE TIME PERHAPS FOR QUESTIONS.

UH, SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO OUR POLICY MAKERS, UH, FOR ANY FEEDBACK.

UH, I WOULD INVITE ANYONE THAT HADN'T SPOKEN ALREADY TO SPEAK.

UM, AGAIN, DELIGHTED TO HAVE, UH, UH, OUR CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, A BAR IN OKLAHOMA CALL, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM KATHY OFFICE, UH, IN PARTICULAR, UM, NICOLE GOLDEN COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR THERE, UM, DEFINITELY WANT TO PUT ANYONE ON THE SPOT, BUT WHAT WE MIGHT ANYONE TO CHIME IN WITH THAT THAT WOULD LIKE TO WELL CONDITION IS THERE BEFORE TRANSLATING A NORMAL WEB PAGE AUDIO SIGNAL, A BLIND PERSON CAN UNDERSTAND.

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UH, THAT, THAT TECHNOLOGY IS WHAT WE CALL A SCREEN READER TECHNOLOGY.

UM, SO IT DEPENDS ON WHAT INSTRUCTIONAL DEVICE YOU'RE USING.

IF YOU'RE A, A STUDENT, IF YOU'RE USING A LAPTOP, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU WOULD USE PROBABLY A PROGRAM CALLED JAWS AND IT, AND IT'S AN APPLICATION THAT GIVES AUDIO FEEDBACK, UM, THAT DESCRIBES THE ELEMENTS THAT YOU'RE INTERACTING, UM, ON A WEBPAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, OR AN APPLICATION.

A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS USE IPHONES AND IPADS, AND THEY HAVE BUILT IN SCREEN READERS THAT, UH, WILL, YOU KNOW, NARRATE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH, BUT THE DIFFICULTY WITH SCREEN READERS, A IT'S, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED AND IT REQUIRES A HEAVY COGNITIVE LOAD BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT ONLY HAVING TO PROCESS THE NORMAL INFORMATION IN A GIVEN APPLICATION, BUT YOU'RE ALSO HAVING TO NAVIGATE AN ANOTHER LAYER OF TECHNOLOGY ON TOP OF THAT.

BUT THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS THAT SIMPLY MANY APPLICATIONS AND MANY WEBSITES ARE JUST NOT DESIGNED, UH, UP TO ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, UH, BLIND STUDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO, TO GET TO THE ELEMENTS ON A WEBPAGE AND THEY CAN'T ALWAYS DO THAT JUST BECAUSE THE WEBPAGE IS NOT, UH, DESIGNED APPROPRIATELY.

UM, SOME WEBSITES ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY, I THINK THE LATEST STUDY WAS 98% OF ALL WEBSITES HAVE SOME SORT OF ACCESSIBILITY ERROR, UM, WHICH IS A HUGE BARRIER FOR OUR POPULATION.

ARE THERE ONLINE GUIDELINES FOR HOW TO MAKE WEBSITE OR ACCESSIBLE? YES.

UH, THERE ARE GUIDELINES AND, UH, AND THERE, AND THERE'S EVEN LAWS IN PLACE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, DEMAND THAT ESPECIALLY EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES ARE SUPPOSED TO MEET THESE STANDARDS.

UM, I, I ADMIT I'M NOT 100% UP TO SPEED ON ALL THE FINE DETAILS OF THESE, OF THESE LAWS AND, AND GUIDELINES.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, THE NATIONAL FEDERATION FOR THE BLIND THAT, UH, THEY, THEY FREQUENTLY WILL PURSUE LITIGATION TO TRY TO GET ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS TO WEBSITES.

I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL WERE FAMILIAR WITH A HUGE DOMINO'S LAWSUIT, BUT DOMINO'S PIZZA COMPANY, THEIR, UH, THEIR MOBILE APPLICATION WAS NOT ACCESSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND.

AND THEY ACTUALLY, UH, UM, THERE WAS A SUPREME COURT RULING ABOUT IT JUST A FEW MONTHS BACK THAT BASICALLY RULED IN FAVOR OF THE PLAINTIFF.

UM, AND, UH, IT MADE THE CASE THAT THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY ACT APPLIED TO DIGITAL STOREFRONTS AS WELL AS PHYSICAL STOREFRONTS.

AND

[00:35:01]

THAT WAS A HUGE WIN FOR ACCESSIBILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES.

AND, UM, AND IT HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS FOR, FOR BUSINESSES AND WEBSITES IN GENERAL, TO START APPLYING PRESSURE TO THEM, TO DESIGN IT UP TO UP TO STANDARD.

SPECIFICALLY WITHIN AN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT, IT IS QUITE DEPRESSING.

LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S A VERY POPULAR LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT YOU SEE IN K THROUGH LIKE SECOND OR THIRD GRADE CALLED SEESAW.

IT'S TOTALLY INACCESSIBLE FOR SCREEN READERS.

SO STUDENTS THAT ARE ON IPADS THAT ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED, THEY CANNOT ACCESS THAT APPLICATION AT.

UM, AND THERE'S LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF EXAMPLES.

UM, WITH MAINSTREAM EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, I'M CURIOUS, UM, FOR DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, UH, LIKE SCREENING OR TOOLS, UM, DO THEY, ARE YOU, ARE YOU NOTICING THAT THEY'RE REQUIRING EXTRA, EXTRA, UM, YOU KNOW, EXTRA BANDWIDTH NEEDED IN ORDER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, STABLE USE THEM? IS IT CREATING MORE OF A, A POOL ON THE AVAILABLE BANDWIDTH OF YOUR STUDENTS? THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT SCREEN READER TECHNOLOGY IN AND OF ITSELF ADDS AN EXTRA DEMAND ON THE BANDWIDTH.

I THINK IT ADDS AN EXTRA DEMAND ON THE PROCESSING SPEED OF THE GIVEN DEVICE.

SO IF A STUDENT DOESN'T HAVE A FAST ENOUGH PROCESSOR ON THEIR COMPUTER OR THEIR PHONE IS OUTDATED, UM, IT CAN REALLY SLOW YOUR DEVICE DOWN.

AND SO IN THAT EXAMPLE, YES, IT CAN TAKE A STUDENT WHO IS USING A SCREEN READERS A LOT OF EXTRA TIME TO COMPLETE THE SAME SORT OF ASSIGNMENTS A A GEN ED STUDENT MAY COMPLETE VERY QUICKLY.

UM, SO THEY NEED THAT ACCOMMODATION OF EXTRA TIME SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE COMPLEXITY OF NAVIGATING THIS CONTENT WITH A SCREEN READER AND THE EXTRA, UH, UH, DEMAND THAT IT, THAT REQUIRES OF THEIR DEVICE.

UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE EARLIER QUESTION, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT REALLY, THERE ARE THREE SYSTEMS, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOT THE APPLE STANDARD PLATFORM, YOU'VE GOT THE MICROSOFT PLATFORM.

AND WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY IS THAT THERE REALLY ISN'T A STANDARD THAT STRADDLES ALL THREE PLATFORMS, SO THAT SCREEN READERS WOULD APPLY EQUALLY, EFFICIENTLY ACROSS ALL THREE PLATFORMS. IS THAT A FAIR THING TO SAY? YOU'RE LIMITED IN THE PLATFORMS YOU CAN USE? UH, TH THAT'S ABSOLUTELY A FAIR, UH, STATEMENT.

THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SCREEN READER, THAT'S SORT OF THE UNIVERSAL STANDARD.

I THINK THE TWO BIGGEST PLAYERS ARE VOICEOVER WITH APPLE PRODUCTS AND JAWS WITH WINDOWS PRODUCTS.

UM, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LIKE, UH, UH, GOOGLE HAS THEIR OWN CULTURE, UH, CHROME BOX FOR THEIR CHROME PRODUCTS.

UM, WINDOWS.

NOW HOW'S THE BUILT IN WINDOWS NARRATOR SCREEN METER IN EACH OF THESE SCREEN, READERS HAS THEIR OWN SET OF COMMANDS AND OWN SET OF RULES AND KEYBOARD, UH, COMBINATIONS THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER.

SO IT DOES MAKE IT VERY CHALLENGING.

ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DO IN MY ROLE AS I TRAIN THE TEACHERS ON HOW TO USE INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY, AND I HAVE TO TEACH ALL THE DIFFERENT SCREEN READERS WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT PRODUCTS.

SO IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S A LOT, IT'S A LOT FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF TO, TO KEEP UP WITH.

SO DO YOU SEE A NEED FOR A NATIONAL STANDARD? AND IF SO, WHERE DOES IT BELONG? WHERE SHOULD IT START? IS IT BE MORE GRASSROOTS EFFORT OR IS IT FROM THE TOP? YEAH, I THINK IT NEEDS TO, I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE TOP DOWN NATIONAL STANDARD, BUT I THINK, I THINK THERE'S THE, THE WC THREE ORGANIZATION THAT CREATES STANDARDS FOR THE WEB.

AND REALLY IF THERE WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, A NATIONAL PUSH TO MAKE SURE THE WEB IS ACCESSIBLE AND THAT MOBILE APPS ARE ACCESSIBLE, USERS CAN CHOOSE WHATEVER SCREEN READER THEY PREFER.

UM, BUT IF THE WEBSITES OR WEBSITES ARE DESIGNED UP TO STANDARD, THEN THEY SHOULD WORK WITH ANY SCREEN READER.

AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM WHEN THE WEBSITE'S NOT DESIGNED, UH, UP TO STANDARD.

IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHAT SCREEN READER YOU'RE USING.

IT'S JUST GOING TO BE A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR THE USER.

INFORMATION FOR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE BLIND COMMUNITY.

GREAT QUESTION.

WE ARE JUST ABOUT OUT OF TIME, I'D LIKE TO GIVE US A, CAN A CHANCE TO ANYBODY THAT PAUL POLICYMAKERS TO CHIME IN.

UH, THIS IS BRIAN OF THE CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER DANIEL, THANKS FOR JOINING US.

UM, WE WERE PART OF THE CITY AND COUNTY'S EMERGENCY OPERATION RESPONSE TO COVID-19.

AND AS I WAS TALKING TO YOU, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN ONLINE DASHBOARD THAT HAS EVERYTHING FROM, UH, THE PERCENT POSITIVE RATE TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND WHERE WE CAN SEE.

AND I WANT US TO KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF, UH, THE ACCESSIBILITY OF OUR COVID-19

[00:40:01]

AND IF, UH, IF OUR WEBSITE IS, IS ACTUALLY VERY COMPATIBLE WITH THE SCREEN READERS THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING THE RIGHT QUESTION.

YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

I, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT SIDE.

I WOULD NEED TO, TO TEST IT MYSELF, BUT, UH, THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION HERE IN AUSTIN CALLED NOBILITY.

THAT'S K N O W B I L I T Y A NONPROFIT AND THEY ADVOCATE FOR AN ACCESSIBLE WEB, AND I KNOW THEY, THEY CAN PROVIDE, UH, ACCESSIBILITY TESTING OF, OF WEBSITE.

SO IF YOU WERE CURIOUS IF YOUR SITE MEETS STANDARDS, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD REACH OUT TO THEM AND SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.

UH, IN FACT, THAT'S A GOOD EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED TO ACTUALLY, UH, TEST SITES.

AND, UM, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S JUST CONTRACT WORK, BUT IT'S STILL REALLY NICE FOR THEM.

UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE KIND OF COACHING OUR STUDENTS UP, UH, AS A CAREER ED OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ACCESSIBILITY TESTERS.

UM, NO, THAT'S GREAT.

I'LL DEFINITELY TAKE YOU UP ON THAT.

WELL, DANIEL, I DEFINITELY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY, UH, WITH YOUR PASSION FOR ADVOCACY AND DESIRE TO BE FURTHER INVOLVED, UH, WANT TO KNOW, UH, WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES HERE AT THIS COMMISSION TO BE INVOLVED AND REALLY APPLAUD YOU FOR MAKING TIME FOR US TODAY.

THANKS SO MUCH.

I APPRECIATE IT.

MY PLEASURE.

I HOPE YOU CAN NOT STICK AROUND FOR THE REST OF THE CONVERSATION WITH THAT.

WE'LL GO AHEAD, MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ORGANIZATION, UH, THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER AUSTIN, AND WE HAVE A HOST OF, OF CLIENTS, UH, THAT WE'LL BE SPEAKING.

UH, BUT THERE'LL BE AN INITIAL STATEMENT.

INTRODUCTION FROM THE DIRECTOR OF FAMILY PATHWAYS, UH, PAULA SYLVESTRI FOR US.

OOPS, MUTE IT.

HELLO EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME TODAY.

MY NAME IS AND THE DIRECTOR OF FAMILY PATHWAYS AT UNITED WAY FOR GREATER OSTEEN.

AND I AM HERE TODAY REPRESENTING THE TWO GEN COALITION AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES WITH LOW INCOME HERE IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY.

UH, FAMILY PATHWAYS IS THE PILLAR OF UNITED WAY THAT FOCUSES ON FINANCIAL STABILITY OR GOAL IS TO MOVE FAMILIES TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING WAGES BY REMOVING SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO CAREER IN EDUCATION, PATIENT PATHWAYS FOR PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN.

THE ECONOMIC RAMIFICATIONS OF COLLEAGUE CRISIS CONTINUE TO UNFOLD.

AND THERE IS A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE.

THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS HAVE BROUGHT INTO SHARP FOCUS, THE IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN LOCATION AND CAREERS TO FIGHT INEQUITIES.

SERVICE PROVIDERS HAVE CHANGED THEIR DELIVERY SERVICE TO THE SOUND'S LEARNING AND REMOTE SERVICE DELIVERY.

IN ORDER TO ACCESS SERVICES NOW, AND INDEFINITELY FAMILIES NEED ACCESS TO BROADBAND BROADBAND INTERNET.

I EQUATE DEVICES AND DIGITAL SKILLS TO PARTICIPATE IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OR COMMUNITY HAS DONE A LOT TO PROVIDE FOR INTERNET ACCESS SCHOOL VICTORIES DISTRICTS, THE CITY AND NONPROFITS ARE PROVIDING HOUSEHOLDS WITH WIRELESS SPOTS OR CON INTERNET SERVICES.

THERE IS AN EXPANSION OF FREE INTERNET SERVICE THROUGHOUT PUBLIC HOTSPOTS AROUND THE CITY.

UM, THE MAJORITY OF FAMILIES OF LOW INCOME ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR AND THEY'RE LIVING IN, UM, THEIR CERTS DIGITAL DESERTS.

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.

THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THEIR SCHOOLWORK BECAUSE THEY LACK INTERNET ACCESSING THEIR HOME HOTSPOT.

AFTER DON'T HAVE CAPACITY FOR MULTIPLE DEVICES AND MULTIPLE FAMILY MEMBERS.

WE HEAR FROM CHILDREN WHO MUST VENTURE OUT ALONG TO WIFI SPOTS, NEAR BUSES OR LOCAL RESTAURANTS.

EVERY TIME A CHILD OR A PARENT HAS PROBLEMS WITH THE INTERNET CONNECTION THAT CHILD OR PARENTS EXPERIENCE A LEARNING LOSS.

A LARGE NUMBER OF FAMILIES ARE ACCESSING VR SERVICES.

THE OTHER ONE, IN MANY CASES, SEVERAL FAMILY MEMBERS ARE SHARING A SINGLE CELL PHONE AND ARE USING THAT CELL PHONE TO ATTEND CLASSES AND MEETINGS IN SEVERAL PLATFORMS ARE COMPLETE SCHOOLWORK LIKE WRITING ESSAYS, UPLOADING DOCUMENTS, AND HOMEWORK, FILLING OUT FORMS TO ACCESS OUR SERVICES SUCH AS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS OR HEALTHCARE.

TODAY, YOU WILL HEAR FROM A SINGLE MOM WORKING TO WORKING TO ATTEND CLASSES HERSELF WHILE HER, WHILE SHE CHAIRS TWO COMPUTERS WERE HER THREE SCHOOL AGED KIDS THAT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL IN OCCASIONAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH ONLY TWO DEVICES.

AND EVEN WHEN STUDENTS HAVE DEVICES AND SOME CONNECTIVITY IS NOT ALWAYS ENOUGH TO ENSURE THEY HAVE FULL ACCESS TO A MIND ILL PATIENT.

THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE BASIC DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS AND NO ACCESS TO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

FOR MANY POPULATIONS.

[00:45:01]

THIS ISSUE IS COMPOUNDED INCLUDING NON ENGLISH SPEAKER, ALL THEIR INDIVIDUALS WITH BASIC DIGITAL EXPERIENCE AND THOSE WITH LIMITED EDUCATION.

SO YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE GOING TO SHARE THEIR STORIES, UM, AND A COUPLE OF TIMES ARE GOING TO SHARE THEIR STORIES IN SPANISH BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN.

WONDERFUL.

AND WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN INTERPRETER TODAY FOR THAT AND MAKE SURE TO CONFIRM IT SO THAT WE CAN RELATE THOSE SMALL STORIES.

SOMETHING ELSE AND, UM, INTERNET , UM, LEGO HOTSPOT UM, ULTRA DIFFICULT ADVOCATE IS SOY STORY HAPPENED IN THE END.

WHEN A SERVICE SERVERS AND THERE'S THE I SEE THE WOUND, UM, MI FAMILIA MSCI HAS FAMILIAS THEY OWN THE NECESSARILY.

YES, I THINK NOT .

UM, NOT ANY ANOTHER, UM, I MAY SEE HAS, UM, PROBLEM UM, I C E UH, UH, CAN I PLEASE HEAR FROM FRANCISCO DIAGNOSE TO CONFIRM THAT OUR TRANSLATOR IS ON THE LINE? OH, BETTER? DON'T THINK, YEAH.

PRINCESS GO.

I BELIEVE YOU'RE MUTED FRANCISCO.

I SEE THAT.

YOU'RE TRYING TO, YOU'RE TALKING, BUT YOU'RE STILL MUTED.

MY APOLOGIES, UH, TO REITERATE, UM, MY NAME IS FRANCISCO GAN.

I WILL BE THE SPANISH LANGUAGE INTERPRETER FOR THIS SECTION.

UH, MS. MORALES HAS MADE MENTION OF HER STATUS AS THE MANNER OF RESIDENTS AND, UM, THE DIFFICULTIES THAT SHE'S HAD, UM, DEALING WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, PRIMARILY AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE, UH, ROLE THAT SHE'S HAD TO TAKE ON NOT ONLY AS A CARETAKER, BUT ALSO AS AN EDUCATOR NOW, UM, WHAT SHE HAS MADE MENTION OF IT HAS BEEN MOST PERVASIVE IN HER EXPERIENCES THUS FAR, IS THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT BROADBAND TO BE ABLE TO, UH, EFFECTIVELY, UH, FOR TAKING CLASSES, UM, HER CHILDREN THAT IS, I MEAN, SHE HERSELF HAS, WELL, NOT ONLY THAT, BUT SHE HAS ALSO MADE MENTION THAT, UM, BEING THAT THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF DEVICES FOR HER, UH, HOUSEHOLD.

UM, WHAT SHE FINDS IS THAT, UH, THEY ARE EXPERIENCING A MICROCOSM OF, UH, WITHIN THEIR HOUSEHOLD AND THEY OFTEN HAVE TO, UH, DIVINE TIMES IN WHICH THEY DIVULGE FOR EDUCATION OR FOR THEIR WORK OR, UH, CONNECTIONS TO FAMILY MEMBERS.

I AM GOING, UH, SHE HAS MORE TO MENTION SAY, UM,

[00:50:02]

THE ENGLAND'S NO BOY UM, BENTYL UM, HE AND SHOW THAT TO US.

AND WHAT I'M ABOUT IS THE COMMISSION, UM, MS. MORALES HAS, UM, UH, PROVIDED US WITH MORE INSIGHT AS TO, UM, THE DIFFICULTIES THAT SHE'S BEEN EXPERIENCING.

UM, ONE OF THEM BEING THAT, UH, THERE IS A LACK OF CULTURALLY COMPETENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR, UH, PRIMARY CAREGIVERS, UM, THAT, UH, SPEAK ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.

AND SO WHAT THE, THAT HAS INHIBITED HER FROM DOING IS BEING ABLE TO, UM, STEP INTO THAT ROLE AS AN EDUCATOR, UH, IN A WAY IN WHICH, UH, SHE FEELS, UH, CAN BE EFFECTIVE AT THE MOMENT.

SHE FEELS THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS, UM, UH, DISABLED HER FROM DOING JUST THAT.

UH, GOING BACK TO THE MENTION OF LACK OF BROADBAND, SHE MENTIONED THAT, UM, OFTENTIMES THE ASSIGNMENTS THEMSELVES ARE REQUIRE, UH, CERTAINLY, UH, PROGRAM AND USES, WHICH IS ABLE, UM, INDIVIDUALS FROM BEING ABLE TO COMPLETE A WORK THAT IS PROVIDED BY SCHOOLS, UH, THINGS, BROWSERS, AND OF THAT NATURE, UH, AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT, UH, SHE HAS HAD TO WORK, UH, FROM HER, UH, PHONE EFFECTIVELY, UM, THAT IS OPEN TO IT, IS THAT, UH, SHE DECIDED TO MAKE THE TRANSITION TO PRIMARY CAREGIVER, UM, RELYING ON THE INCOME OF HER HUSBAND AS A RESULT OF THAT.

AND SO THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, UM, BYPRODUCTS OF THE DEVICE WHICH HAVE MADE, UH, THE LIFE OF HIS MORALE IS NOT MUCH MORE , FAMILIAR EITHER.

UH, UM, UH, UH, UH, SLAPPING LV THEN, UH, NOW WE HAVE, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, UH, MARIE LORD, UH, MET THE COP KAABOO JAMBI.

MS. MORALES WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE COMMISSION AND ALL PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS CALL.

SHE IS GRATEFUL TO SHARE HER STORY AND IS ADAMANT AND IS ASKING THAT THE RESOURCES IN, UH, UH, CULTURALLY COMPETENT PROGRAMS BE, UM, PUT INTO PLACE TO BE ABLE TO DIMINISH THE GAP THAT IS ONLY INCREASING AS A RESULT, THEN CHAIR, PITCHER, YOU ARE ON MUTE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TRANSLATING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. MORALES FOR SHARING YOUR STORY.

I KNOW THAT OUR COMMISSION IS COMMITTED TO DOING OUR PART AND WITH FAT, I WOULD LIKE TO, ALTHOUGH WE ARE PRESSED FOR TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, INVITE OTHERS TO SHARE THEIR STORIES.

BEFORE WE RESPOND WITH QUESTIONS.

I KNOW THERE'S SEVERAL PARENTS STANDING BY THAT WILL BE PARTICIPATING.

SO I'D LIKE IF WE COULD GO AHEAD AND KEEP THE TESTIMONY GOING

[00:55:01]

UH, WOULD YOU PLEASE HELP? YES.

UM, HELLO, MY NAME IS AND I'M A SINGLE MOM OF THREE KIDS, AND I LIVE IN SOUTH AUSTIN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THE EQUITY INEQUALITY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FAMILY.

SINCE THE CORONER WHERE WE STARTED, UH, I WAS SCARED TO SEND MY KID TO SCHOOL.

SO I AM, THEY WERE STAYING HOME WITH ME, AND RIGHT NOW I'M GOING TO SCHOOL, UH, IN A COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL.

SO I HAD TO STOP GOING TO SCHOOL, JUST HOME WITH THEM, UM, BEING A TEACHER, BUT, UH, BEING, UH, DOING THAT.

IT'S NOT, IT'S VERY, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH COMPUTER FOR MY THREE KIDS.

I HAVE A, THE FIRST ONE WHO IS IN FOURTH GRADE AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IN SECOND GRADE, AND THEN THE LAST ONE IN KINDERGARTEN.

SO THEY ALL NEED COMPUTER.

AND I HAD ONLY TWO COMPUTERS FOR THEM.

SO I FOUND MYSELF, UM, SACRIFICING ONE KID, UM, THE, THE WORK, THEY WERE ABLE TO ATTEND ALL THE CLASSES AND THESE, UH, DOING THAT IS GOING TO AFFECT THEIR GRADE.

AND THEN SOMETIMES HAVING THOSE TWO COMPUTERS, OR WE FIND MYSELF, UH, THE PROBLEM WITH THE INTERNET BECAUSE MY INTERNET WAS VERY WEAK.

SO, UH, I WAS VERY, VERY STRESSED OUT ABOUT IT.

AND I KNOW THAT DIFFICULT THING WAS I WAS, I HAD TO DIVIDE MYSELF FOR THREE KIDS.

EVERY KID HAS A ASSIGNMENT THAT I HAVE TO DO.

EVERY KID NEEDS, UH, NEED ME TO BE AROUND WHEN IT'S TIME TO LOG IN, TO PUT THE PASSWORD.

AND THEN, UH, SCHOOL IS AT THE SAME TIME EVERY MORNING.

SO, UM, I, WE FOUND MYSELF LIKE SACRIFICING ONE KID, JUST NOT DOING NOTHING THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

AND THEN TOMORROW I, WE SWITCH ON SACRIFICE ANOTHER KID.

AND THEN, UH, IT'S VERY, VERY COMPLICATED FOR ME.

AND I HAVE THE LAST THING IS I'M, I DON'T HAVE A VERY GOOD SCARE ON COMPUTER, LIKE DOWNLOAD THINGS, UM, LIKE GOING ON THOSE, UH, MATERIAL THAT ALL THE SCHOOL, I USE IT NOW FOR KIDS.

SO I HAD TO TAKE LIKE ALMOST ONE WEEK TO STUDY THAT, UH, PIECES BY PIECES, BUT STEER, IT'S NOT DIFFICULT.

IT'S NOT EASY FOR ME.

SO THAT'S, UH, ALL THE PROBLEM THAT I FACE SINCE STARTED.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, UM, THE, YOU GIVE US, YOU GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS OURSELVES, TO SAY, TO TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON.

I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.

AND I URGE YOU TO SUPPORT, UM, TO, TO SUPPORT A FOUR TO CLOSE THE GE DIGITAL DEVICE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU, SIR.

I APPRECIATE CONVENIENCE.

I KNOW THAT THERE'S LIKELY TO BE KEY QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK FROM OUR PANELISTS AND POLICYMAKERS, BUT I'D LIKE TO CHECK IN TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT BEFORE WE BEGIN THAT PORTION.

LIKE MY DAUGHTER.

SO THE , UM, WHICH HAS BUT, UM, IF AMELIA SINGLE YOU ALSO MUST THINK OF CLASSES.

WELL, UH, I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU OFFERING YOUR, YOUR CHILD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.

UM, I GUESS WITH THAT, WHAT I PREFER PERHAPS MIGHT BE BETTER, UH, SINCE WE ARE KIND OF PRESSED FOR TIME.

IF ANY OF YOU, IF ANY OF YOUR OTHER, UH, UH, YOUR OTHER, UH, GREATER AUSTIN FAMILY PATHWAYS MEMBERS.

SORRY, I JUST, I THINK, SORRY.

I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

TESTIMONIAL .

[01:00:02]

INDIFFERENCE IS A SQUARED EQUALS FAMILIA HOSPITAL IN OSAKA LAST DAY.

, UH, MISS, UH, REBELLIOUS, UM, IS A NATIVE OF THE VALLEY.

AND THAT IS ONE, UH, HURDLE THAT SHE'S FACING.

UM, NOT ONLY THAT, UM, BUT, UM, SHE MADE MENTION THAT, UM, THERE IS INSUFFICIENT BROADBAND, UH, PROVIDED BY THE HOTSPOT, WHICH WAS THE SIGN TO HER HOUSEHOLD BY, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, AND BEING VENERABLE.

THESE CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOL AS WELL.

SHE CAN NOT RELY UPON THEM TO HELP HER WITH SOME OF THE MORE LOGISTICAL COMPONENTS OF REMOTE LEARNING, UM, BEING THAT THEY AS WELL ARE IN SCHOOL, UM, THAT COUPLED WITH A LACK OF DEVICES AT HOME HAD ALSO MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR HER TO EFFECTIVELY PROVIDE, UH, THE, UH, THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO HER CHILDREN.

UM, MENTIONING THAT THAT HER YOUNGEST CHILD IS CURRENTLY ATTENDING SCHOOL VIA HER CELL PHONE.

AND OFTENTIMES DUE TO THE INSUFFICIENT BROADBAND PROVIDED BY THE HOTSPOT.

UM, SHE HAS HAD TO RELY ON THE, UM, SERVICE

[01:05:01]

THAT HER CELL PHONE PROVIDES.

THAT IS BY MANY OF THE, UH, DIFFICULTIES THAT MR BELLA'S AS WELL AS OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE FACING.

AND SHE, UH, AS WELL EMPLOYED THAT GUN THERE BE, UM, UH, RESOURCES, CULTURALLY COMPETENT PROGRAMS FOR LATINOS IN CREATED TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AS THE SPECIFIC MICROCOSMS OF THE VIDEO WITH THE BIKE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

UH, UH, SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES.

IT'S SO MEANINGFUL FOR US.

AND WE KNOW, UH, THAT IT'S REALLY THE BEGINNING TO ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES, UH, THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING TOWARDS IS THE COMMUNITY IT'S A FIXED, BUT YET ARE ONGOING, UH, CHALLENGES.

UH, I'D LIKE TO, BUT COULD CONFIRM, UH, WITH PAUL, UH, UH, I KNOW THAT THE LAST SPEAKER WAS TENTATIVE.

UH, SO IF, IF THAT'S ALL THE SPEAKERS THAT YOU'LL HAVE, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE OUR POLICYMAKERS A CHANCE TO, UH, TO ENGAGE, UH, MS. AND MS. REBELLIOUS, DO ANY OF THE SPEAKERS USE THE AIS SCHOOL BUS VERY EXPERIENCED WITH THESE HOTSPOTS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

A COMMISSIONER NEEDS A LITTLE BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, I'D LIKE TO CONFIRM THAT WE HAVE HEARD FROM ALL THE SPEAKERS A PILOT.

CAN YOU PLEASE CONFIRM, HAVE YOU HEARD FROM ALL THE SPEAKERS TODAY? YES.

NO.

I THINK THAT WE HAVE ONLY ADD THESE THREE SPEAKERS TODAY.

OKAY, WONDERFUL.

WELL, THAT'S A PERFECT QUESTION THEN.

UH, UH, FRANCISCO, UH, DID YOU HEAR THE QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER EATS? YES.

NOW I'M GOING TO TRANSLATE THAT SPANISH.

UM, UM, UH, THEY LOST THE SIANNA CHOICE.

YES, HE WAS EXPERIENCED YEAH.

AT MOMENTUM.

NO, YOU'RE NOT.

I WAS TO THE COMMISSION, UM, HAS, HAS MENTIONED THAT SHE IS AWARE OF THE BUSES, BUT SHE HAS NOT UTILIZED THEIR SERVICES BEING THAT, UM, SHE HAS A RATHER LARGE FAMILY AND A SMALL VEHICLE.

UM, AND SHE ALSO HAS VERY YOUNG CHILDREN THAT ARE HARD TO KEEP, UH, AT SITTING FOR A MONTH.

THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE.

UH, OKAY.

OH, JUPITER IS A RED COVERED, HIT, IT HIT VERY HARD.

AND PARTICULARLY IN AISD, EASTERN SEPARATE OF THE CITY, IT HIT HARDER THAN THE REST OF THE CITY AND EVERYTHING COLLAPSED.

AND WE WERE ASSURED THAT AS THE MONTHS WENT BY, THERE WOULD BE GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE DELIVERY OF TECHNOLOGY, SUCH THAT STUDENTS CAN THEN BE ENGAGED.

HAS THERE BEEN ANY PERCEPTIBLE CHANGE IN THE QUALITY OF THE EQUIPMENT AND THE SERVICES SO THAT CHILDREN CAN ALL BE BETTER ENGAGED? I'D LIKE TO INTERJECT? I COULD, UH, BECAUSE AS MS , UH, EXPRESSED, UH, SHE'S HAVING CHALLENGES WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT SHE HAS RECEIVED.

SO I THINK THAT YOUR QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED BY HER TESTIMONY ALREADY, BUT I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU MS. HUMAN B, IF I COULD, UH, IF YOU COULD PERHAPS OFFER ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON HOW IT'S BEEN TO USE, UH, THE HOTSPOTS FOR YOUR HOME, THAT MIGHT HELP US TO, TO HELP AISB THAT'S FOR YOU.

THERE WE GO.

SORRY.

I, TO SAY I WAS LOST MY INTERNET

[01:10:01]

WHEN PRISON.

WELL, THAT'S REALLY APROPOS THAT PROVED THE POINT.

GIVE US SOME ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS ON HOW IT'S BEEN FOR YOU.

OH YES.

GREAT.

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.

NOW THIS IS MY INTERNET.

THAT'S JUST DOING OKAY.

SO I'M FAMILY, A SINGLE MOM, SINGLE MOM, LIKE, LIKE ME, IT'S NOT REALLY EASY TO GO THROUGH THE, THE PROBLEM OF ALL THE PAIN THE ME IS CAUSING.

SO, UM, MY KIDS ARE VERY STRESSFUL.

I, RIGHT NOW I HAVE A PROGRAM, UH, AT SCHOOL, UH, FOR MY KID.

THEY DON'T REALLY LIKE THE FACT, UH, EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED AT SCHOOL.

YOU DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE TO STAY VERY FAR AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.

AND OF COURSE, THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE TO WEAR MASK, UH, YESTERDAY MY KID, THE ONE I PICKED HIM UP AT SCHOOL, YOU HAVE TO STAY IN THE CAFETERIA BY HIMSELF.

I MEAN, ALL THE KIDS WHO HAVE SIBLINGS NEED TO STAY TOGETHER, SO THE PARADE CAN PICK THEM UP SO THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT IF, BECAUSE OF THE COVID.

SO THE, THE, THE TOLL THAT IT WAS JUST SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT.

SO WHEN I TALKED TO THE TEACHER, THE TEACHER SAYS EVERYBODY'S LIKE THAT ALL THE SIBLINGS NEED TO STAY TOGETHER WHEN A PARENT COMES TO PICK THEM UP.

SO, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER VERY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR KIDS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND OF COURSE IT WON'T, IT'S NOT EASY FOR THEM TO, TO UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION.

SO MY PROBLEM NOW IS LIKE, UH, THE, THE LEGACY, THE MENTOR PROGRAM THAT MY KID, I HAVEN'T RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AN ISSUE FOR ME.

AND OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATING THE CHALLENGE THAT YOU'RE HAVING WITH YOUR BANDWIDTH.

UNFORTUNATELY, HAVING TO DROP OFF THE CALL AS A COMMISSIONED, ASKING FOR NOTICE.

SO, UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SHARING TODAY.

UH, WE DO, UH, NEED TO PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE, UH, OUR, UH, INFREQUENT YES.

UH, OUR, UH, DIRECT POLICY MAKERS, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED WAY, UH, FAMILY PATHWAYS PROGRAM.

YOU CAN SEE MY HAND, BUT, AND WE THANK YOU FOR SHARING AND EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE CALL, BUT I SEE SCORE, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY THAT THEY IN THE VALLEY AND THEN SOMEBODY ELSE, EITHER IN MAYNOR, ARE THERE ANY PATHWAYS PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE AISD? YES.

DISTRIBUTED ENOUGH DEVICES AND THAT, OR THEY AT LEAST OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE DEVICES DISTRIBUTED TO THEM.

I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO GAUGE IS THE COMMISSION ENGAGED IN CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINER AND DEL VALLEY ISD AS WELL? OH, WOW.

QUICKLY AS I FEEL THAT I MIGHT HAVE MISINTERPRETED, UM, COUNCILWOMAN, MISS REBECCA IS A NATIVE OF THE VALLEY, BUT SHE HAS AN AUSTIN RESIDENT.

NO, I HEARD SOMEBODY SAID BB AND THEY'LL BUY IT.

AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS DELL VALLEY.

OH, I THINK HE FITS HE'S FROM THE VALLEY.

I SEE.

AND I, AND I DEFINITELY HEARD SOMEBODY SAY THAT THEIR SOLAR ATTENDS IS IN THAT THEY LIVE IN MAYNOR.

CAN YOU ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE AISD OR MAYNOR ISD? I LIVE, EXCUSE ME.

I LIVE IN MAYNOR.

I'M DONE FOR MAROTTA.

I LIVE IN MAINE BED.

MY KIDS GO TO ISD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND SO, FROM WHAT I WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THROUGH MY CONVERSATION WITH AISD RECENTLY WAS THAT THEY FELT SECURE THAT FROM FIRST GRADE THROUGH 12TH GRADE, ALL SCHOLARS WHO NEEDED DEVICES HAD THEM.

AND SO I'M TROUBLED TO HEAR THAT SO MANY DON'T HAVE THEM.

IN WHICH CASE I'D LIKE TO JUST FIGURE OUT FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE WERE YOU OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A DEVICE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE PROCESS.

AND I'M JUST, I'M VERY CURIOUS WHY THERE'S SUCH A SHORTAGE OF DEVICES WHEN AISD SEEMS TO THINK THEY

[01:15:01]

SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE GAP IS HERE.

UM, UM, , , UH, UM, JOE , BUT, UH, BUT, UM, MY ASSOCIATES AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS COMMON.

THANK MS. MORALE HAS MENTIONED THAT SHE DID HAVE THE ABILITY TO RECEIVE A DEVICE AND HAVE THAT DELIVERED TO HER HOME.

UM, WHAT THEY FOUND MOST PREVALENT IN HER HOME IS THAT SHE HAS HAD TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION FROM WORKING FROM HOME.

AND SO THAT IS WHAT IT'S BEEN SUFFICIENT.

UM, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT AND HAVING A NEW BROADBAND, SHE HAS HAD TO USE THE DEVICE THAT WAS AFFORDED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO APPEASE THAT REQUIREMENT.

I'D LIKE TO HAND IT TO THEIR HEAD OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, CATHERINE CRAIG, GOOD AFTERNOON, TRUMPETS AND COMMISSIONERS.

APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I CAN CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTY IN MAKING THE TRANSITION.

UH, I MADE THE TRANSITION IN MARCH AND NOW .

AND SO THE DIFFICULTY, I GUESS, I'M JUST THINKING WHAT ALL THE PROBLEMS ARE.

IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE ONE, THE DIFFICULTY OF MAKING THIS VERY, VERY HARD TRANSITION.

I HAD TO YOUTUBE FOR HOURS TO LEARN HOW TO TEACH MY FIFTH GRADER, COMMON CORE MATH, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT HOW I LEARNED MATH.

UM, SO THERE'S THAT PART WHEN YOU HAVE TO BECOME AN EDUCATOR.

AND THEN THERE'S THE PART WHERE IT SOUNDS TO ME, LIKE THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF DEVICES.

IT ALSO SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF CONSISTENT BROADBAND, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT I'M HEARING EVERYTHING CORRECTLY, THAT I'M GETTING ALL THE ACCURATE INFORMATION.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD THERE, APOLLO? YES, DEFINITELY.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE OF CONTEXT.

UM, THERE TOO, DAN CORRELATIONS SERVES THAT WHOLE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY AREA.

THESE ARE SOME, UH, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE, OF THE TOTAL POPULATION AS THE DATA, AN AMAZING JOB, UH, HANDING, UH, THE CHROME DEVICES, BUT THEY'RE, UM, THEY'RE STILL, UM, I THINK 16,000 STUDENTS WITH THAT, WITHOUT THOSE, UM, I MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OFF, BUT THERE'S STILL A QUITE LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THOSE STUDENTS WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS.

AND I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT TO, UM, EMPHASIZE HERE THAT PARENTS IN OR TO GEN COALITIONS THEY'RE INTO GEN PROGRAMS. SO THERE ARE, UM, THEMSELVES ALSO TRYING TO ENROLL IN A PATHWAY TO A CAREER IN EDUCATION.

SO THERE ARE STILL SOME, UM, SOME LACK OF COMPUTERS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO, TO, TO ACHIEVE THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

UH, AND TO ALL OF YOUR, YOUR FAMILY'S FOR JOINING US TODAY.

UM, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

UH, SO I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WILL BE ENCOURAGED, UH, BY, UH, BY THIS, TO KNOW THAT WE'LL BE INVITING YOU BACK TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE TYPES OF ENGAGEMENTS, AS WE CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES HERE, UH, WITH, UH, OUR LEADERS AND WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WE DO NEED TO MAKE A SHIFT IN OUR AGENDA NOW.

SO I WANT TO, IF I COULD THANK EVERYONE AGAIN FROM, UH, UNITED WAY OF GREATER AUSTIN AND THE FAMILY PATHWAYS PROGRAM FOR JOINING US TODAY AND HOPE THAT YOU'LL STICK AROUND FOR THE REST OF THE CONVERSATION, UH, WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ORGANIZATION, UH, AND DEDICATED PARTNER ALONG WITH THE WAY THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER AUSTIN, UH, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN PATHWAYS.

AND WITH THAT,

[01:20:01]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US TODAY.

I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUES, UH, DR.

WEB PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR, UH, INVOLVED DADS OF ACTION, DEVELOPING AND SUCCEEDING.

ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS AND MR. TESTER MARTEL, WHO IS, UH, ONE OF OUR HIGH DADS, UH, AMBASSADORS AND LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND, UH, BY VIDEO BRIANNA STERLING, WHO IS A SMART CITY AMBASSADOR, UH, WE SERVE ABOUT 20,000 VERY LOW INCOME RESIDENTS, UH, IN SUBSIDIZED PUBLIC HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

OUR RESIDENTS EARN BETWEEN 10 AND $14,000 PER YEAR.

UH, 60% ARE SINGLE MOTHERS AND ABOUT 30% HAVE SOME KIND OF A DISABILITY, UH, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS AGO, THANKS TO, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, DIGITAL INCLUSION DEPARTMENT, GOOGLE FIBER, AND OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS.

WE ESTABLISHED A DIGITAL INCLUSION INITIATIVE CALLED, UM, UNLOCKING THE CONNECTION.

AND NOW NINE OF OUR PUBLIC SUBSIDIZED HOUSING PROPERTIES.

DO YOU HAVE HIGH SPEED, UH, GOOGLE FIBER INTERNET, UM, BUT A SIGNIFICANT, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR POPULATION IS LARGELY DISCONNECTED.

AND BECAUSE HOUSING IS AT THE INTERSECTION OF EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTHCARE, BECAUSE WE'RE RIGHT AT THAT INTERSECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE MAYOR, UH, ISSUED THE FIRST STAY AT HOME ORDER, UH, WHEN COBIT HIT, WE, UH, WE CLOSED DOWN OUR PROPERTY OFFICES.

WE STOPPED PROGRAMMING AT OUR PROPERTIES.

UM, AND SO THIS JUST KIND OF, THIS IS THE LIFE OF OUR RESIDENTS BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE THEIR, THEIR, THEIR GOALS, THEIR DREAMS OF, UH, OF, UM, YEAH, YOU KNOW, EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND QUALITY OF LIFE YOU'VE BEEN HEALTHCARE.

SO, UM, WHEN COVID HIT, WE, WE, BECAUSE OF THE, THESE LONG PARTNERSHIPS, WE'VE HAD, WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME THINGS PRETTY QUICKLY THAT HAVE BEEN HELPFUL.

UM, WE ESTABLISHED A RESIDENT AND CLIENT SUPPORT CENTER, UH, WHERE RESIDENTS COULD CALL US, UM, 12 HOURS A DAY, UM, SEVEN, THEY EMAIL US, UH, NOT MANY RESIDENTS WERE EMAILING US, UM, AND, AND COULD SEND TEXTS AS WELL.

UM, WE IMMEDIATELY CONNECTED OUR 18 RESIDENT COUNCILS, UM, THANKS TO A DONATION OF REFURBISHED, UH, LAPTOPS THAT WE HAD AN INVENTORY SO THAT THOSE RESIDENT COUNCIL LEADERS COULD CONTINUE TO GOVERN AS, AS HUD ASKS THEM TO DO.

UM, WE COULD CONTINUE PROVIDING INFORMATION THAT, YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS IT CHANGED AND GETTING INFORMATION BACK FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT CONCERNS THAT THEY HAD DURING COVID, UH, HEALTH AND SAFETY, UM, CONCERNS WERE ALWAYS AT THE FOREFRONT.

UM, THEY WERE NOW MEETING SUCCESSFULLY USING, UH, YOU KNOW, ONLINE MEETING TOOLS LIKE THIS ONE, BUT TO GOVERN, WE STARTED TO SURVEY ABOUT A THOUSAND HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE'RE TARGETING.

THESE ARE K-12 BUS HOLDS WOULD DO.

WE'VE COMPLETED ABOUT 370 IN DEPTH SURVEYS TO MAKE SURE THAT KIDS IN THOSE HOUSEHOLDS HAVE THE INTERNET CONNECTION THAT THEY NEED, THAT EACH CHILD HAS A DEVICE, AND THAT THE PARENT HAS A DEVICE AND THE DIGITAL LITERACY AND CONFIDENCE THAT THEY NEED TO HELP THEIR CHILDREN ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS OF EDUCATION.

OUR SMART CITY AMBASSADORS, WHO WERE HACA RESIDENTS PAID A STIPEND TO INNOVATE WITH TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES AND EDUCATE THEIR NEIGHBORS.

THEY COULD NO LONGER WORK ON PROPERTY.

UH, THEY'VE HAD A TRANSITION, A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, AND THEY ARE NOW HOLDING A, UH, UH, VIRTUAL, UH, COMPUTER LAB, UH, FOR HOCKER RESIDENTS.

AND FINALLY, BECAUSE SO MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS DO NOT HAVE A CONSISTENT, AFFORDABLE, HIGH SPEED BROADBAND CONNECTION.

WE HOSTED A COUPLE OF CONVENINGS OF NONPROFITS WHO ARE SORT OF OUR RESIDENTS WHO ARE PLANNING TO PURCHASE INTERNET SERVICE FOR THEIR CLIENTS.

AND, UM, ALSO WE HOSTED A CONVENING OF SIX, UM, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO BEGIN TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM, UH, THAT AFFORDABLE HIGH SPEED BROADBAND CONNECTION.

SO, UM, I FIRST, I GUESS I WOULD JUST LIKE TO INTRODUCE, UM, ONE OF OUR RESIDENTS WHO'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, AT THE, AT THE CRUX OF ALL THIS AND SHE LIVES ABOUT, I GUESS, WHAT ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF EAST OF BY 35? AND, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, GLOBAL HOTSPOT ACCESS AND WHETHER OR NOT MOBILE HOTSPOTS WORK THE SAME WAY IN ALL PARTS OF TOWN, YOU KNOW, SHE'S IN ONE OF THOSE SPOTS IN THAT AREA THAT, UH, HAS, HAS PRETTY POOR, UH, SERVICE FOR MOST MOBILE HOTSPOTS.

UM, AND SO HER NAME IS BRIANNA

[01:25:01]

STERLING.

UH, SHE'S ONE OF OUR SMART CITY AMBASSADORS AND, UH, SHE SHARED HER TESTIMONY MONEY, UH, BY VIDEO, LIKE JESSICA WILL BE HERE SHORTLY.

CAN YOU ALL SEE THE VIDEO? THAT'S ABOUT THE PLAY? WE CAN GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR PITS AND COMMISSIONERS.

UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME SPEAK TODAY.

MY NAME IS BRIANNA STERLING AND I AM A SMART CITY AMBASSADOR FOR THE IT TEAM.

UM, I ALSO HAVE AN ASSOCIATES DEGREE FROM ACC WHERE I ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK FOR HACA.

UM, DURING MY TIME WORKING FOR HACA, I WAS ABLE TO HELP, AND I ALSO DID A RESEARCH DISSERTATION THAT I'LL BE SHARING SOME INFORMATION TODAY.

UM, SO I DID A RESEARCH DISSERTATION WITH A TEAM, UM, WAS A FOUR PEOPLE TEAM WITH ME, TRENT SHARP, DANIEL RUIZ, AND MARY, UM, IN THE RESEARCH, WE WANTED TO ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS.

HOW DO PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS ENGAGE IN SMART MOBILITY AND VIRTUAL RESOURCES? HOW DO SMART MOBILITY AND VIRTUAL RESOURCES IMPACT HOUSING RESIDENTS AND EDUCATIONAL ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES AND ARE PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS AWARE OF SMART MOBILITY, RESOURCES AND VIRTUAL AND DIGITAL RESOURCES.

UM, AND THE RESEARCH DISSERTATION.

WE FOUND THAT, UM, OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE INTERVIEWED, THAT THERE'S A LACK OF TRUST.

THERE'S A LACK OF FUNDS, AND THERE'S A LACK OF DIGITAL LITERACY AND LOW INCOME ENVIRONMENTS.

UM, SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TRUST FOR THE DIGITAL COMPANIES AS FAR AS GIVING THEM THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION OR THEIR MONEY.

UM, SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO, YOU KNOW, USE THE DIGITAL RESOURCES AS FAR AS BRIAN GOOD COMPUTER OR, YOU KNOW, USING LYFT OR UBER, UM, SMART MOBILITY RESOURCES, AND THEN THE OLDER GENERATION AND ALSO BILINGUAL GENERATION.

UM, DON'T REALLY GET THE CLASSES THAT THEY NEED TO GET THE DIGITAL LITERACY THAT THEY NEED BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ARE IN ENGLISH.

UM, AT THE END OF MY REPORT, I PUT, UM, A QUESTION, WELL, I PUT A STATEMENT, WHICH IS IF PEOPLE KNEW AND TRUSTED THE DEVELOPERS OF TECHNOLOGY, THEY WOULD ADOPT THE TEXT SOONER.

UM, SINCE THERE'S A LACK OF TRUST FOR THE COMPANIES THAT CREATE TECHNOLOGY AND, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE DON'T REALLY WANT TO USE IT.

SO I WAS JUST WANTING TO ASK THE COMMISSIONERS, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT THEY CAN DO TO, YOU KNOW, JUST BRIDGE THAT GAP IN BETWEEN THE DEVELOPERS OF TECHNOLOGY AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.

SO THAT WAY THERE IS A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IT WORKS AND HOW THEIR INFORMATION IS USED.

AND, YOU KNOW, ALSO THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMS OUT THERE FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES THAT THEY COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.

SO THERE'S JUST A LOT THAT THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITY COULD LEARN IF WE CAN JUST CREATE THAT TRUST FOR THEM.

UM, I ALSO WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUE WITH THE DIGITAL RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY.

AS OF NOW, DUE TO THE, I KNOW THAT AUSTIN ISD HAS SUPPLIED MOST, UM, HOUSEHOLDS WITH COMPUTERS AND IPADS AND HOTSPOTS.

I AM AWARE THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE HOTSPOT DISTRIBUTED TO A HOUSEHOLD, WHICH CREATES AN ISSUE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MORE THAN ONE KID.

UM, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY SCARY BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THESE CHILDREN, THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE FUTURE OF AMERICA.

AND DUE TO THIS EPIDEMIC, THEY'VE MISSED A BUNCH OF SCHOOL AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020.

AND THEN NOW WE'RE IN FALL 2020, AND WE HAVE KIDS WHO DON'T HAVE EITHER DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER OR HAVE A COMPUTER FROM AISD, BUT DON'T HAVE A HOTSPOT OR, YOU KNOW, A REALLY SOLID INTERNET CONNECTION AND THEY'RE GETTING LEFT BEHIND.

[01:30:01]

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE OF AMERICA IS GOING TO BE IN THE HANDS OF CHILDREN WHO WILL BE ADULTS ONE DAY WHO DON'T HAVE THE EDUCATION THAT THEY NEED FOR THE WORKFORCE AND WHICH MAY LEAD TO A RECESSION.

SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THE COMMISSIONER COULD, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU GUYS CAN DO AS FAR AS WORKING WITH INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE A SOLID INTERNET CONNECTION FOR THOSE FAMILIES WHO HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN ONE KID, AND ALSO AS FAR AS LIKE WITH, YOU KNOW, JUST THE GENERAL POPULATION OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO BUILD THAT TRUST SO WE CAN, YOU KNOW, JUST BRIDGE THAT GAP.

UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME SPEAK TODAY.

UM, I DO HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU WANT TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT TO TOUCH BASE WITH ME AGAIN.

AND I ALSO HAVE A LINK TO MY RESEARCH DISSERTATION PAPER THAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU GUYS.

AND AGAIN, THANK YOU.

THAT WAS GREAT.

IT WAS A REVENANT THAT THOUGHT, ESPECIALLY, UH, IN RELATION TO TRUST AND RELEVANCY RELEVANCY, WHICH WE DISCUSSED HERE AT THE COMMISSION.

UM, I KNOW THAT WITH COMMISSIONER DUSK COOPER'S WORK ON THE CENSUS THAT SURELY REVELENT FEE, UH, TECHNOLOGY HAS, HAS BEEN AN ISSUE AND, AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LEVERAGE THE TOOLS FOR THEMSELVES.

UH, BUT THE LITERACY HAS A PERSISTENT CHALLENGE.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT A SIMPLE SOLUTION, UH, BUT TRUST AS BEING AN ISSUE WITH BOTH HEARD, I'D LIKE TO, IF I COULD, UH, ALLOW YOU TO CONTINUE.

UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, THERE WILL BE SOME REACTIONS FROM THE POLICY MAKERS, UH, BUT I'D LIKE TO, IF I COULD FOCUS ON THE SHARING COMPONENT NOW, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND HAND IT OFF TO, UH, JOSH BANKS WITH INVOLVED DADS OF ACTION IN DEVELOPING AND SUCCEEDING, UH, THE PROGRAM COORDINATOR THERE.

AND, AND IF I MAY JUST QUICKLY SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, JOSH HAS BUILT THIS, THIS PROGRAM, UM, I DAD'S PROGRAM, UH, OVER A, UH, MULTI-YEAR PERIOD.

AND, UM, IT IS, UH, IT RECENTLY JUST WON AN AWARD FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS.

IT'S AN AWARD WINNING PROGRAM.

AND SO WHEN COVID HEAD, UM, YOU KNOW, HE, HE PULLED HIS TEAM TOGETHER.

THE I DADS TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO NAVIGATE I DAD'S IN THE VIRTUAL CONTEXT NOW.

THANK YOU, CATHERINE.

AND THANK YOU, MR. AND EVERYONE.

AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

MY NAME IS JOSH DENOUNCED STANDS FOR INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING AND SUCCEEDING.

WE ARE SIMPLY THE PROVINCE PROGRAM.

AND AGAIN, AS MARTIN ALLUDED TO WHEN CODING KIT, WE TRANSITIONED ALL OF OUR MEETINGS FROM AN IN PERSON FORMAT TO A WARM AND IMMEDIATELY I NOTICED THE, UM, THE DIFFICULTIES IN MAKING THAT TRANSITION.

NOT ONLY WERE WE, UM, AS BIAN ALLUDED TO DEALING WITH THE ISSUE OF TRUST, BECAUSE THERE IS THAT, UM, SENSE OF GEE, THERE'S A LACK OF TRUST THAT PEOPLE WHO AREN'T EXACTLY ACCUSTOMED TO USING COMPUTERS EXPERIENCE, WHEN YOU TELL THEM TO GO FROM ROLE TO ROLE OR NOT.

AND I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE DIGITAL COMPETENCE PIECE, UM, TEACHING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT USED TO USING COMPUTERS ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT NOT ACCUSTOMED TO NEW PROGRAMS, THEY'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH ZONING AND TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY WALKING SOMEBODY THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WHAT DOES A MOUSE, WHAT IS A MONITOR? WHERE DOES, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS AROUND? THERE'S AN END TIANA TAKING ME BACK WHEN THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, SHOWING PEOPLE HOW TO USE A SMALL PHONE THAT I HAVEN'T HAD TO DEPEND ON A SMARTPHONE IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE ISOLATION THAT COMES FROM BEING DISCONNECTED, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T MEET WITH PEOPLE ANYMORE.

SO WE NOTICE THESE TYPES OF ISSUES THAT WERE ARISING.

AND SO WHAT WE DID, WE WERE ABLE TO TRAIN SOME OF THE GUYS THAT ARE GRADUATING FROM OUR PROGRAM TO NOT ONLY LEARN HOW TO USE THEIR OWN DEVICES THEMSELVES, BUT HOW TO SHOW OTHER PEOPLE HOW TO USE THE DEVICES, FAMILIARIZE THEIR INDIVIDUALS, ZOOM PLATFORMS, AND SHOW OTHERS HOW TO NAVIGATE THE ZOOM PLATFORM.

AND SO I COULD GO ON AND TALK FOR DAYS, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS I'D LIKE TO PASS IT ON NOW TO ONE OF OUR PROGRAM REPS TO NOW SERVE AS A PROGRAM, AMBASSADOR HIS NAME, JUSTIN MARTEL.

HE IS A RESIDENT AT THE HOUSE AT 40, BUT

[01:35:01]

I'M VERY PROUD OF HIM BECAUSE HE'S BEEN WITH OUR PROGRAM SINCE THE BEGINNING, AND NOW SERVES AS A CAPACITY TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE IN THE PROGRAM.

AND CERTAINLY LEADERSHIP.

THANK YOU, MR. MARTEL, HOPE YOU STILL WITH US CHESTER.

YOU'RE STILL MUTED IF YOU'RE TRYING TO TALK.

HELLO.

GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY NAME IS AND IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY.

I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.

UM, ACTUALLY, MR. BANKS IS CORRECT, UM, IN THIS PROGRAM, UH, I'VE ACTUALLY LEARNED A LOT AND, UH, WITH TECHNOLOGY, I ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE A SMART PHONE AND WAS, WAS, UH, TRULY THANKFUL CAUSE I WAS TOTALLY DISCONNECTED FROM LIFE ACTUALLY.

AND UM, WITH THIS DEVICE, THE SMARTPHONE I'VE ACTUALLY LEARNED TO, UH, DO GOOGLE DRIVE, GOOGLE DOCS, GOOGLE SHEETS, I'M ABLE TO ZOOM IN AND ATTEND THE, UM, THE MEETINGS AND GET THE HELP THAT THEY'RE READY FOR ME TO, UH, BE PRODUCTIVE, UH, AS WE SPEAK, UH, AND, UH, WAS ABLE TO DO APPLICATION WITH TARGET.

AND JUST TODAY AT THREE OH NINE, I GOT A CALL FROM TARGET.

UH, I HAD A PROBLEM WITH, UM, DOING A VIRTUAL INTERVIEW THAT, UM, SYSTEM WENT DOWN AND, UH, HAD TO CALL BACK LIKE THREE TIMES BEFORE I ACTUALLY GOT BACK ON ROAD, COMPLETE THE INTERVIEW.

AND, UM, JUST THIS MORNING, UH, SYSTEM WAS DOWN FROM NINE 25 TO 10 45.

AND, UM, WITHOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY AND EVERYTHING, I'VE ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE A JOB NOW AND I'M TRULY GRATEFUL.

UM, I'M OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING THAT ANYBODY MIGHT WANT TO ASK.

HAVE ACCESS TO BANDWIDTH SHOULD BE AVAILABLE.

IF YOU'RE SHARING THAT.

AND I KNOW THAT THERE MAY BE SOME QUESTIONS.

DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THE OVERALL SCOPE CATHERINE, BEFORE WE OPEN IT UP TO THE POLICY MAKERS? I GUESS I WOULD JUST SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BRIANNA STERLING, MR. LANG AND MR. MARTEL, UM, THEY, THEY FELT HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS, UH, TRY TO GET AN INTERNET CONNECTION, UH, WITH THEIR DEVICES AND SO FORTH.

AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HEARING FROM OUR AMBASSADORS IS THAT, UM, WE DO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT LOW INCOME PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF LOW-INCOME OFFERS BY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, THAT THE LANGUAGE IS CLEAR AND SIMPLE, THAT THEY'RE BUILT CORRECTLY.

UM, WHEN THERE ARE BILLING ISSUES THAT THEY CAN RESOLVE THOSE.

AND, UM, WE'RE HEARING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES TIME.

UM, AND, UH, AND, AND THESE ARE THE PIONEERS REALLY, UM, AND THIS NEW DIGITALLY TRANSFORMED WORLD.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL TO THEM.

AND I, IF I MIGHT SAY THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT UP MOST OF THESE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG FATHERS HAVE WAS THEY DON'T HAVE THE ACCESS OR THE DEVICES TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND OR TO BE ABLE TO BETTER ITSELF.

WHEN I TALK TO THEM, THEY JUST ALL HABIT AND, AND, UM, AGAIN, FRIVOLOUSLY BEING ABLE TO SLEEP, MR. MARTEL, I APPRECIATE YOUR CANDOR.

UH, AND, AND, AND BEING, MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE FOR THIS CONVERSATION.

UH, WE HAVE EXACTLY 11 MINUTES BEFORE, UH, AN IRON CURTAIN WILL FALL ON THIS CALL.

UH, SO I'D LIKE TO, IF I COULD USE, UH, FIVE MINUTES, UH, YOU KNOW, SEVEN OR SO TO ALLOW OUR POLICY MAKERS A CHANCE TO RESPOND AND, UH, AND PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE, UH, FOR YOUR SPEAKERS.

AND I'D LIKE TO BEGIN IF I COULD, UH, I KNOW THAT OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK AT LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A CAM WITH THEM, AND THEN CIRCLE BACK WITH, UH, OUR DISTINGUISHED COUNCIL MEMBER AND CHIEF OF THAT EQUITY OFFICER.

I HAVE A QUESTION THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A PROBLEM WITH DAN WITH, EVEN IF THEY DO

[01:40:01]

AND THAT IS INDEED A QUESTION FOR TARA, UM, AND ONE THAT WE SHOULD CIRCLE BACK WITH HIM TO FOLLOW UP.

ALTHOUGH I APPRECIATE YOU ADDING IT TO THE RECORD HERE AS PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR SPEAKERS TODAY, OR FEEDBACK OR THOUGHTS.

I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING AVAILABLE, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE A LITTLE OVER TIME HERE.

SO I'D LIKE TO GIVE OUR POLICY MAKERS A CHANCE TO ENGAGE OUR SPEAKERS HERE BEFORE WE CLOSE THAT.

I'D JUST LIKE, MAKE ONE NOTE JUST FOR US GOING FORWARD.

THIS IS COMMISSIONER GUIRO.

ASIDE FROM CONNECTIVITY AND HAVING ADEQUATE BANDWIDTH IN ORDER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY DO THE TASKS THAT EVERYONE IS NEEDING TO DO AND STRUGGLING WITH, UM, SOMETHING I'M HEARING IS IT'S DEFINITELY A NEED FOR US TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR, UM, OUR PARTNERS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THE TECH SECTOR THAT WORKED SO HARD AS A COMMISSION TO BUILD UP SOMETHING THAT USUALLY WE GET TO SHOWCASE AND, AND A LOT OF, UM, WORK WITHIN THIS, YOU KNOW, NORMALLY, UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION.

SO I, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO, UM, TAKE THE FEED THAT BACK, THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM OUR PARTNERS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

OH, THANK YOU.

UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I, I AGREE.

I MEAN, WHEN I HEAR HER, UH, YOU KNOW, BRIANNA'S STATEMENTS ABOUT TRUST AND TECHNOLOGY, I MEAN, SHE'S TALKING ABOUT FOLKS THAT MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A SCOOTER OR, UM, MIGHT WANT TO TAKE, UH, AN E BIKE OR AN UBER TO GET PART WAY TO A JOB.

AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE STATEMENTS THAT, THAT, THAT I HEARD RECENTLY IS FROM A CHALMERS COURTS RESIDENT WAS I SEE TECHNOLOGY GOING UP AROUND ME, BUT IT IS IT FOR ME.

AND, AND SO IF THERE IS THIS BROADER QUESTION OF WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, WHO SHOULD PAY FOR THAT? UM, WE KNOW THAT THE INTERNET IS NOT LEGALLY CHARITY.

UM, WE ARE ALSO HEARING, YOU KNOW, REPORTS FROM RESIDENTS ACROSS THE CITY THAT THE INTERNET THAT IS BEING PROVIDED DOESN'T WORK THE SAME WAY IN ALL PARTS OF TOWN.

UM, THERE ARE MAYBE NOT OBVIOUS, UM, LARGE AREAS THAT ARE DISCONNECTED.

WE ARE IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET.

AND I KNOW THAT, UM, THAT TARA, YOU KNOW, HAS A LOT OF, A LOT OF INFORMATION AND EXPERTISE YET, BUT WE ARE FINDING IN SMALL POCKETS, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AT ROSEWOOD THAT, UM, THAT BASICALLY, UH, SOME OF THE HOTSPOTS THAT, THAT THEY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY DIFFERENT PARTNERS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GETTING TO ABOUT A THIRD OF DIAL UP SPEED ON THOSE HOTSPOTS.

AND SO WHY IS THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW THAT OUR RESIDENTS KNOW IF YOU DRANK FIVE BLOCKS THAT WENT IN TWO BLOCKS THAT WAY WITH YOUR KIDS IN A CAR, DO YOU HAVE MONEY? IF THE KIDS COULD STAY IN THE CAR FOR SIX HOURS WHILE THEY ALL FINISH THEIR CLASSES, AND IF THEY ALL HAVE A DEVICE, THEN YOU'LL BE ABLE YOUR KIDS ABLE TO COMPLETE SCHOOL THAT DAY THEY'LL GET A CHECK MARK, THEY WILL HAVE ATTENDED, AND THEY WILL NOT FAIL.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME WE'RE JUST IN THE LAST KIND OF PART OF THEM THAT KIND OF THE MATURITY OF BEING ABLE TO ENSURE THAT, THAT OUR LOW INCOME COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS EQUITABLE ACCESS TO INTERNET, UH, SO THAT, SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, DO EVERYTHING THAT THEY WERE DOING.

UM, AND I GUESS I WOULD JUST WRAP IT.

I KNOW WE'RE VERY SHORT ON TIME, BUT, UM, WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM FAMILIES IS DON'T FROM PARENTS, LEAVE ME OUT.

MY CHILDREN'S DEVICES ONLY WORK FOR AISD.

THEY'RE LOCKED TO THE CHILD OR THE CHARTER SCHOOL I NEEDED TO BUY SO THAT I CAN LEARN TO HELP MY CHILD.

AND SO WE'RE STRIVING TO DO THAT, OR I NEED A CONNECTION, UM, BECAUSE SOMETIMES SOME OF THE HOTSPOTS ARE THOSE FIRST.

SO NOW HOW WILL THE PARENT CONNECT DURING THE DAY? UM, SO THE, SO WE'RE HEARING THOSE THINGS AS WELL.

AND AGAIN, I'M JUST APPRECIATE THE GREAT WORK THAT, THAT OUR RESIDENTS ARE DOING OUT THERE TO, TO INNOVATE IN THIS TIME OF, OF, OF, OF STRUGGLE.

GREAT SEGUE TO OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS GOING TO BE NEXT WEDNESDAY, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUING THESE CONVERSATIONS.

UH, I WOULD LIKE TO, IF I COULD, UH, TURN TO THE REST OF THE POLICYMAKERS AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO HAVE, UH, ONE LAST, UH, STATEMENTS, UH, LIKE AGAIN, WITH OUR DISTINGUISHED COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK

[01:45:01]

YOU TO YOUR PETS.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE THIS CONVERSATION FOR PROBABLY ANOTHER WEEK AND REALLY NOT SCRATCH THE SURFACE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, LIKE, EVEN JUST THINKING THROUGH, UM, MR. LEE REALLY APPRECIATED HER SHARE, AND EVEN JUST THINKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, BROADBAND ACCESS IS NOT A PUBLIC UTILITY, UM, AND THERE ARE SO MANY BARRIERS TO US MAKING IT.

SO, BUT THE GENERAL PUBLIC DOESN'T KNOW THAT.

I MEAN, LIKE EVEN THAT PART, IT'S LIKE WE'RE HOARDING INFORMATION.

UM, AND I REALLY WISH MORE PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO KNOW WHAT THE BARRIERS ARE BECAUSE THAT'S A PART OF THE MISTRUST.

IT FEELS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO ROSEWOOD COURTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY GOT CINDER BLOCK WALLS, THIS THICK, THAT'S A PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE RECEPTION, BUT FOLKS ARE ASSUMING IT'S PROXIMITY TO WELLS AS OPPOSED TO INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I REALLY THINK IF WE JUST HAD MORE COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE AND WHAT SOME OF THE BARRIERS ARE, IT WOULD BREAK DOWN SOME OF THAT MISTRUST AND IT WOULD ALSO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY WERE A PART OF THE DIALOGUE AS OPPOSED TO BEING TALKED AT AND TALKED ABOUT, BUT NOT INCLUDED IN THE CONVERSATION.

I THINK THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT AS WELL, BUT AGAIN, I REALLY THINK WE COULD JUST GO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON.

SO I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT IF THERE'S A CONTINUATION OF THIS DIALOGUE, UM, I'D LOVE TO BE A PART OF IT.

AND IT'S YOUR PITS, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND JUST SHARING WITH ME, ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PARTICIPATED AND KNOW THERE WAS UNITED WAY THERE'S HACA, THERE WAS, UM, THE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND SCHOOL FOR THE DAY.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO FOLLOW UP WITH EVERYBODY.

CAUSE, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN JUMPING UP AND DOWN ABOUT SINCE I TOOK OFFICE.

AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY I'M GOING TO ROUND OUT MY SECOND YEAR AND WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.

UM, AND THAT DOESN'T FEEL ESPECIALLY GOOD AND LISTENING TO PEOPLE'S CHALLENGES AND THEIR STRUGGLES.

IT JUST SOLIDIFIES THE COMMITMENT.

IT MAKES IT THAT MUCH MORE OF A SENSE OF URGENCY.

SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR SHARING.

I APPRECIATE HAVING HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND LISTEN FIRSTHAND.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT COUNCIL MEMBER.

UH, OUR CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, UH, BRIAN OAKS.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING BEFORE WE HAVE TO, UH, CLOSE OUR MEETING? WELL, WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US, UH, NONETHELESS, AND BEING AVAILABLE FOR THE CONVERSATION.

UH, ANY FINAL THOUGHTS COMMISSIONERS BEFORE WE, UH, FOR OUR, OUR PANELISTS HERE FOR OUR SPEAKERS, UH, WITH, UH, HAKA AND, UH, AND I BET I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO ANSWER IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBILITY AND BANDWIDTH.

SO THOSE ARE FOLLOW UP ACTION ITEMS FOR OUR COMMISSION.

I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE.

I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE AND I'LL LET THAT BE THE LAST COMMENT, BECAUSE THAT'S A

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

UH, IN FACT, CATHERINE CRAIG WILL BE PRESENTING, UH, ALONG WITH, UH, ONE OF THE LEADERS FROM THE ROSEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL, UH, AND A PRESENTATION NEXT WEDNESDAY.

UH, MICHAEL WARD JR.

WILL BE PRESENTING AS WELL, UH, WITH AUTUMN.

AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UH, CITY STAFF PRESENTING AS WELL ON INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, VERY POINTEDLY AND TOPICALLY, UH, PLACED, UH, FROM A TIMING STANDPOINT, THERE'S A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS, UH, THAT I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT WE'RE DOING HERE AS PART OF, UH, THE VISUAL INCLUSION OFFICE TO ADDRESS DIGITAL ACCESS NEEDS AND TEMPORARY ACCESS RESPONSE TO COVID-19.

THERE WAS NO TIME FOR THAT NOW TODAY.

HOWEVER, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO IMPART TO EVERYONE LISTENING AND TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, BUT IT IS AN ONGOING ITERATIVE PROCESS.

AND ONE THAT REQUIRES, YOU KNOW, REAL FEEDBACK AND CANDOR ABOUT WHAT'S BEING MISSED.

AND AS THE COUNCIL NUMBER STATED, UH, WE COULD BE SPEAKING ON THESE THINGS FOR, FOR WEEKS AND STILL NOT MAKE THAT MUCH PROGRESS, BUT THE MORE WE DO, THEN THE MORE WE WILL MAKE PROGRESS.

UH, SO WITH THAT, WE ARE IN A MATTER OF SECONDS NOW, BEFORE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A HARD STOP.

I NEED TO MOVE FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN OUR MEETING.

UH, SO I CAN THANK EVERYONE, UH, ONCE WE CAN, CAN DO SO.

I MOVED HERE WHEN I WISH WE HAD ANOTHER HOUR, WE COULD HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW.

THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS TOPIC.

AND THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY HAS JUST TO BE KNOWN IN OUR DIALOGUE.

SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY WHO CAME AND SPOKE TO US.

WE ARE HUMBLED.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

LET'S GET TO THAT.

DO I HAVE A SECOND ALL SECONDS? AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY, I'M THINKING IT'S YOUR PITS FOR, UM, ORGANIZING AND MODERATING ME ALL THESE STORIES TO HELP US INFORM OUR WORK.

AND I'M

[01:50:01]

GOING TO GIVE US SOME QUESTIONS AND IDEAS GOING FORWARD.

WELL WITH THAT, WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN AND A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT.

UH, AND THEN I'LL SAY A FINAL.

THANK YOU, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE, AYE.

AND THAT'S IT.

I HEARD YOUR COMMISSIONER.

GUIRO, UH, WE ARE UNANIMOUS NOW AND, AND MOVEMENT TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.

SO NOW THE OFFICIAL MEETING, UH, THE TRINITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION IS ADJOURNED, UH, WITH THAT.

I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR JOINING THIS CONVERSATION.

I WILL BE SURE, UH, THAT, UH, THE DETAILED AGENDA WITH THE SPEAKERS AND THE ORGANIZATIONS IS MADE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED HERE ON THE CALL TODAY.

AND WE'LL BE SURE ALSO TO FOLLOW UP WITH, UH, A DETAILED, UH, ACCOUNTING OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WERE POSED TODAY, AS WE'RE WORKING TO CREATE FRANKLY, A REPOSITORY OF THOSE STORIES AND CHALLENGES TO THE MAP TO SOLUTIONS.

SO THAT WAY WE CAN TRACK OUR PROGRESS AND FEEL EVEN BETTER ABOUT THESE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING TO ADDRESS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.

SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING PART OF THIS CONVERSATION TODAY, THE SPECIAL CONVERSATION ON DIGITAL EQUITY AND WISH EVERYONE A GREAT WEEKEND.

I WANT TO THANK OUR CITY STAFF FOR HELPING TO MANAGE THIS PROCESS AND DOING SOMETHING NEW WITH THE COMMISSION AND OUR VIDEO SERVICES FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MORE OF THESE THEN MAYBE EVEN ON A QUARTERLY BASIS GOING FORWARD.

THANKS EVERYONE, PLEASE, PLEASE COME BACK.

AND, UH, I JUST WANNA THANK EVERYONE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.